Love of a Jedi
by DarthImperious
Summary: This takes place during the Prequal time frame, slightly AU. Features a Jedi several years older than Anakin with the same Force Potential as Master Yoda.
1. Chapter 1

_A Jedi Does Not Know Fear_

_A Jedi Does Not Know Anger_

_A Jedi Does Not Know Love_

Jedi Knight Naes Nemelc was walking through the marketplace of Theed on the planet Naboo. This was his first independent assignment as a Knight; he was all of twenty years of age and already was a Knight. Not really that surprising considering that Naes was one of the best pilots the Jedi had and was a skilled swordsman who could rival Master Kenobi, as well as the fact that he was such an expert slicer, Republic computer systems were like putty in his hands, he could access networks that were supposedly locked down and secure, retrieve any information and add any phony data that he wanted to, of course the only Jedi that knew of this particular talent was his former master Lemor Salgoud, besides the only other Jedi with a higher midichlorian count was Master Yoda and the young boy that Obi-Wan Kenobi had taken as his Padawan shortly after the death of Master Jinn. Those events were four years ago, Naes was sent to Naboo by the council to investigate rumors of a Neimodian plot to discredit the ruler of Naboo, Queen Amidala. It was Naes's guess that Nute Gunray had never forgiven her for his humiliation during the Blockade and Battle of Naboo. Even though the Queen had good relations with the Jedi Council, Naes was sent here without her knowledge and undercover. His job was to look like any other tourist and hopefully foil the plot without it all becoming public knowledge, the Trade Federation was already on the verge of throwing its support behind Dooku and the Separatists movement.

Just then, Naes felt a tingling in the back of his head, a warning signal from the Force. The Force was telling him to jump. He reacted to the warning in his head and jumped and twisted and grabbing his lightsaber out of a hidden pocket in his jacket. When he landed, he landed facing the way he had come with his saber raised _en guard_. At that point, blaster bolts were heading his way, somehow someone had recognized him as not being a tourist, of course with someone shooting at him, Naes did not have time to think on that very hard. He was more occupied with deflecting the blaster fire, away from any innocents between him and his attackers and not letting any blaster fire get by him that might harm those innocents that were behind him. Fortunately those between him and his attackers got out of the way fairly quickly, giving Naes some breathing space, he could tell that it was three men attacking him, they appeared to be human as well. With the innocents out of the way in front of him and with those behind him either under cover or gone, Naes began to advance on his attackers and deflect their shots back at them. With him doing that, they were more occupied with trying to stay under cover and not at shooting him. Naes finally decided that it was time to end this, with two of his attackers, he deflected their fire right back at them, taking them both out, leaving one attacker to deal with. Naes advanced on him, knocking aside any fire that came his way until he was nearly on top of the attacker and with a swift downward stroke of his lightsaber, he disarmed his opponent. Now then it was time to begin questioning his suspect.

"Tell me, who sent you and why?" Naes asked, his prisoner just glared at him and then Naes caught a warning in the force as his prisoner bit down on a dummy tooth and Naes knew what he had planned. He immediately began running away from the prisoner and shouting at everyone to get away. Just then he saw a young woman who appeared to be in her late teens walking across the market, he knew that if she did not get behind cover that she would be severely injured. He angled towards her, ran into her and scooped her into his arms, then flung himself and her behind the nearest table. Naes barely had time to create a force cushion around them when the explosion occurred. Naes thought to himself that particular prisoner would not be answering any questions ever again. He stood up, and then helped the young woman up as well. Standing up he could see that she stood approximately 1.6meters tall with hazel eyes and light brown hair; he himself was 1.8 meters tall.

"I want to apologize for the abrupt introduction" he said.

"That is alright" she said, eyeing him carefully, "Who are you?"

Naes gave a polite half bow and introduced himself "Jedi Knight Naes Nemelc at your service my lady. And you are?" he asked.

"My name is Astra, Astra Marn" she said. "Thank you for saving my life, what was all the commotion about, if I may ask?"

"Let's just say that troublemaker will not be a bother anyone else ever again."

"Aren't you a little young to be a Jedi Knight, if I may say so. You can't be much older than I am, and I am 18, the same age as the queen, I am starting my educational courses to become an assistant healer at Theed University in a couple of months. I am hoping to eventually go the Coruscant School of Healers in a couple of years. If you want to be a healer that is the place to go." she said with a smile.

Naes began to think that she might be interested in him in a somewhat more personal nature, but he answered her anyway, after all the Jedi had taught him to be polite so he answered "You are correct, I am 20 years old, this is actually my first solo assignment since my knighting a few weeks ago. I hear nothing but good things about the CSH; if you are ever on Coruscant, be sure and look me up, provided that I am not away on assignment. The life of a Jedi can be rather strenuous; we serve the Republic and thus may be called upon to travel quite often and at the last minute."

Just then, the Naboo security service showed up. Naes did not need the Force to tell him that they were not happy. Of course he did not blame them, if he were a member of security, he would not be happy if there was blaster play in the market on his watch. Naes excused himself from Astra and began walking toward the guards. At the same time Astra went to assist the arriving medical personnel with those that were injured from the recent event. There was a definite sign of anger in the security forces eyes; that is until their eyes lit upon his lightsaber dangling from his belt in plain sight now. Naes introduced himself and requested a meeting with the Queen, to give her his full report on his activities and the reason that he was on Naboo.

An hour later, Naes stood before Queen Amidala giving her his report and explaining why the Jedi Council did not consult with her.

"Your highness; first let me apologize to you for not informing you of my mission to Naboo. The Jedi Council had heard rumors of a Neimodian plot to discredit you and sow discord on Naboo. I was asked to go undercover and make contact with a group of supposed rebels. They were told to be on the look out for someone looking like an innocent tourist matching my description; that I was supposed to provide expert support and advice for computer slicing. Once contact had been made I would join the group and collect as much intelligence as I could on their membership and activities. Having access to their computers would have made all of that extremely easy. Obviously with that as a cover, I could not first go to the castle and have an audience with you and due to the paranoia that currently is gripping the galaxy, the Council did not trust the normal comm channels not to be bugged. Unfortunately somehow they must have learned my true mission and who I was. All of my intelligence thus far indicated a very small group. My suggestion is to check into the known associates of those that tried to kill me this afternoon. I will turn over to you all information collected in my investigation."

"Jedi Nemelc, how long is your assignment to last," asked the queen.

"I am not due back to Council for two weeks your highness. My assignment is nearly complete; the unfortunate death of my last suspect limits the investigation. I have a little more computer investigation to do; and then my assignment will be complete."

"Then Jedi Nemelc, may I suggest that you take about a week and spend in the Lake Country? I can have one of my handmaidens show you around and keep you company while you are there."

"Thank you very much your highness I would appreciate it, even Jedi on occasion need to take time and relax."

"Then it is settled, my handmaiden will meet you at the main gate tomorrow afternoon two hours before dusk."

When the appointed time arrived for Naes to meet the queen's handmaiden the next day he caught sight of a petite brunette that only stood approximately 1.6 meters (5'3") for a moment, she took his breath away. Immediately he began a Jedi calming technique. As he drew closer and got a stronger bead on her Force signature, Naes realized that this was no handmaiden, the girl before him had the same Force signature as Queen Amidala. Naes decided that if she wanted to play coy for now and not let him in on the fact that she was the queen and not just a handmaiden that was fine with him, he would play along. He approached her and gave a polite bow and said "Ma'am, I am Naes Nemelc, are you Queen Amidala's handmaiden?"

"Yes Knight Nemelc, I am Padme Naberrie. I am your guide and escort."

"Then let's go; I could use some rest and relaxation."

With that the duo headed for the docks and the Lake Country, a beautiful and isolated area of Naboo.

Two Days Later.

Naes awoke that morning to the sound of birds singing and the lap of the lake against the shore. It was so beautiful here in the Lake Country, so full of life. He could feel the Force flowing through this region especially strongly. He could feel Padme in the other room still sleeping. She was an especially strong willed individual; she would never be the kind of person happy with someone normal, she would prefer someone that was her match and equal, someone with the same drive and strength, but not ambition, like Jedi she only wished to serve. That thought was somewhat amusing; she would make the perfect wife to a Jedi, if Jedi were allowed to marry. With that, he decided to get up, and headed to the balcony with his lightsaber to practice his kata's.

Naes opted for a more strenuous workout this morning; he needed to get his mind off of Padme. There was something about her that clouded his thinking. And a Jedi could not ever afford to have a clouded mind; their minds had to always be alert and focused. As he focused on the moves of his kata, his mind began to clear and his focus returned. About that time, he could feel her presence behind him watching his morning workout. From her general demeanor through the Force, he could tell that she was enjoying the spectacle just a bit. With that, Naes began to improvise in the moves of his kata, an extra flourish with his lightsaber; he threw in a few extra flips and jumps and other assorted acrobatic moves. As a rule Naes eschewed moves from _Ataru_, he didn't need all that extra flash in his lightsaber combat. Naes even at his young age had already begun to develop his own personal style, a combination of _Soresu_ and _Djem So_. He would start off on the defensive of _Soresu_ but he could switch to the offense of _Djem So_ at any time in a duel and he had no problems bringing his strength and power into play to finish an opponent. Master Drallig had complimented him on his unique style that fit his personality and abilities. He preferred to negotiate but if he had to, he would resort to "aggressive negotiations". His former master had always made the comment that he was one of the more proactive Jedi around. By the time he was done, he was winded and his upper body was covered in a sheen of sweat. He turned around to face Padme, "Good morning my lady, I hope that I did not disturb you."

"Not at all Naes; I was actually rather enjoying myself, you appear to be a master swordsman."

"No my lady, no master, at least not yet, I have some talent, but compared to Master's Yoda, Windu, and Drallig I am rather ordinary. Though, when I get back I want Master Windu to give me some pointers and possibly a few lessons. I am young still and there is a great deal of improvement that I can make. As it is, the council will not be pleased that I was discovered so quickly, for my mission I was supposed to remain incognito and not draw any attention to my self. As part of my tying up loose ends I checked the financial records of the men that ambushed me at the market. I could find nothing conclusive, whoever paid them covered their tracks extremely well, to cover tracks that well you have to be a top consultant for the Interstellar Banking Clan or the Trade Federation; which in itself is fishy in my opinion."

"Wait a minute, how did you get that detailed a look at the financial records? Those sort of things are supposed to be sealed, and cannot be opened without a court order."

"Let's just say that I 'persuaded' the Republic data network to give me a peek at them, my Queen."

With that Padme's face flushed, "You knew, how long did you know?"

"As soon as I met you at the hanger and you introduced yourself, I knew you were actually the queen. One of my better developed Force talents is getting a read on someone's Force aura; each aura is unique and different, yours is a soothing turquoise color. Master Yoda's is a brilliant white and he has told me that mine is a bright green. As for not saying anything about you being the queen, I could tell that you were in need of a vacation yourself, that being why you came, but you did not want it common knowledge that you were gone. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to get cleaned up from my workout. Perhaps afterwards, you can show me the lake and that cove you told me about yesterday and we can take a swim and relax."

Later That Night

Naes was meditating in his room; especially after the events of this morning and the day in general he needed to clear his head. As he cleared his head and opened himself to the Force, he hoped that it would calm and soothe him. Everything about Padme threw his thought processes for a loop, being near her caused uncomfortable feelings to appear. Feelings of desire and forming an attachment to her welled up in his heart; and attachment was definitely forbidden under the Jedi Code. While he was meditating, he could feel her presence in the next room. Her presence was very soothing and at times could be intoxicating, too bad that kind of soothing was forbidden. For the first time Naes contemplated life outside of the Jedi Order. But he knew that being a Jedi was his calling, he truly wanted to help people, and the best way to do that was as a Jedi. He could also feel the stain of the Dark Side upon the galaxy, the blockade four years ago was just the opening salvo, he could feel that the Sith were on the ascendancy once more. In his heart he was certain that the Sith that Kenobi had killed here on Naboo four years ago was the apprentice and not the Master; which meant that the Master was out there somewhere planning and plotting his next move. That night, as Naes slept it was a restless and fitful sleep, one full premonitions and bad dreams.

When Naes awoke the next morning it was with the knowledge that as much as he might wish to stay on Naboo for a few more days that the Force was telling him that it was time to return to Coruscant and resume his duties as a Jedi. When he awoke, he opted to forego his morning kata and pack his few belongings and catch the first available transport to Theed and then onto Coruscant. First though, he had to go and say good-bye to Padme. He could feel her soothing presence in breakfast area, so he got up and put his bag next to the front door and walked over to Padme. He could see her sitting on a stool next to the counter top reading the morning print. He walked up behind her and leaned his right hand on the back of the stool behind her. He leaned over to whisper bye in her left ear. She picked up his left hand with her right hand and brought it up close to her heart and then wrapped her left hand around them both as she looked up into his eyes and she could see the sadness and sense of duty that he held there and understood. "Good-bye Naes, will I see you again."

He stopped and searched the Force for a moment and then said "Yes, the Force tells me so. Remember, you have a friend among the Jedi. Part of me remains with you. I sense you feel it. I must return to my duties but know you are in my thoughts. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

"Thank you my heroic Jedi Knight; until we meet again."

After a few lingering moments, Naes said his farewells and left the Lake Country on Naboo. His duties as a Jedi Knight were first in his young life and that meant his quick return to Coruscant.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Two**

It had been nearly a year since his vacation on Naboo, and this morning Naes awoke from a Force dream that because of decisions he made while on Naboo the universe was unfolding in a dramatically different direction. What that direction was he could not tell, and to top things off, while he was meditating trying to clear his mind and make sense of the dream, the Masters Council summoned him to appear before them immediately. In his year since knighting and the mission to Naboo Naes had become an adept Knight, his sparring sessions with Master Windu had paid off, his saber skills were developing rapidly; to the point that at times he could give Master Windu a real test sometimes. He had also begun to develop a reputation as a minor diplomat as well.

As he slowed down in approaching the Council Chambers, after all a Jedi never hurried anywhere, Naes smoothed his dark brown robe and dark brown tunic and began a basic calming exercise so that when he entered the chamber he could present the appropriate image to the council. A being who was cool, calm, collected, and at peace with himself and his surroundings. As he entered he noticed Padawan Rhea Sirgon, he felt a moment of empathy for her, she had just returned from a disaster of a mission at Zeltros. To make matters worse, during the mission her master Lena Nabar had perished. They were an odd pairing to say the least, so far as appearances went, Lena was an extremely short statured brunette with a dusky hue to her and only standing at 1.55 meters with Rhea being fairer skinned with blond hair and blue eyes with just a hint of curl in her hair and standing at 1.7 meters. Naes had no idea who would be able to complete her training, all the Masters were already paired with Padawan's of their own. Naes knew Rhea fairly well, they were within a couple months of each other in age and they had grown up in the crèche together. Just then Master Yoda spoke up, "Knight Nemelc, how feel you about taking on a Padawan?"

"Master Yoda, I know that you and the Council feel that I am ready to take a Padawan, however I do not believe that I am, what's more were I to take a Padawan from the group of aspirants, I would not be able to be sent out on missions of urgent importance for the Council and Republic as it would be years before my Padawan would be of age to assist in the mission types I have been sent on of late." Secretly Naes really did not want the burden or responsibility of becoming a Master just yet.

Master Yoda responded, "All very good points, but know this, a Jedi is duty bound to pass on what he has learned. That is why the Council is assigning you to complete the training of Padawan Sirgon. After much deliberation, the Council does not feel she is ready for the trials as of yet. But she is old enough to accompany you on missions. That way, you can pass on what you have learned and still continue to go out on missions that entail more hazard than if you picked an aspirant as a Padawan.

Naes had no comment on that statement from Master Yoda, so instead he inclined his head to Master Yoda and said "I serve at the Council's discretion; and am honored in their faith in me to complete this assignment."

With that, the Council dismissed Naes and Rhea.

In the hallway outside the Council chambers as Naes and Rhea were leaving he was telling her, "I want to first go down to the sparring chamber, I need to see what level your saber skills are. After that, I will check with the Council on having you reassigned to the quarters next to mine on the habitat area. What form of lightsaber combat did your master have you train in?"

Rhea replied, "_Niman_-Form Six; the Moderation Form."

Naes continued and said "Hmmm, a decent and practical form, no strengths but no weaknesses either. A form that the Jedi are encouraged to learn today, I know the basics of the form but I have no great like of it. It is often referred to as the diplomat's form because it is less intensive in its demands than other disciplines, allowing a Jedi to spend more time developing ones skills in perception, political strategy, and negotiation. And in my opinion, a form that would prove itself ineffective should you ever find yourself in pitched combat."

Rhea replied "But are Jedi not encouraged to be diplomats and use diplomacy whenever possible?"

"Very true, but a diplomat in theory negotiates unarmed and yet Jedi never go anywhere without their lightsabers near at hand; do not forget that we are diplomats and mediators. But we are also warriors and protectors as well as many other things. We serve the Republic and the Senate first and foremost. Question, how long did the negotiations last during the Blockade of Naboo five years ago?"

"Master Qui Gon's report said that he and Obi Wan Kenobi were escorted into the meeting room, being told that their host would meet with them momentarily. But the negotiations never even got started. The Trade Federation destroyed their ship and then attempted to poison Master Jinn and Kenobi."

"Correct, the negotiations never even got started, and in fact later Master Jinn perished in combat against a Sith on Naboo. In the past year I have been sent on various missions and I have learned one thing, the galaxy is undergoing a period of great upheaval and has become a very dangerous place, even for a fully trained Jedi. Thus, I want you to learn _Soresu_, the Resilience Form. It is good for either opponents armed with blasters or lightsabers. Its focus is on defense and drawing one's opponents into making a mistake. Overall an almost passive form of lightsaber combat. Now Master Drallig or I can teach you _Soresu_, I incorporate parts of it in my own personal form of lightsaber combat, but one of the better practioners of _Soresu_ would be Master Kenobi. I want you to talk to him about taking lessons and learning the finer points of _Soresu_."

"Master, may I inquire what combat form you use?"

Naes smiled at Rhea, he could tell that she was not one to take anything on blind faith alone, and in fact she wanted things proven and to achieve that deeper understanding of a subject. Naes could tell right then that she would make a fine Jedi once she was fully trained. "I tend towards using _Shien/Djem-So_, Form Five, or Perseverance Form. True this form is more focused on overwhelming and overpowering an opponent, the old saying of Peace through superior firepower is how I have heard Djem described. Though I have developed a personally hybrid style, I have a lot of _Soresu_ mixed in with my _Djem So_. That is partly necessity, I am of medium build and height, thus against some opponents it would be difficult to overpower them as is traditionally called for in Form Five. I can use _Soresu_ and once they tire, I can switch to the offensive immediately. Or to trick an opponent, I will start in Soresu and switch to _Djem So_. I also have trained with Master Windu and thrown in some _Vaaped_ as well, though _Vaaped_ is as much a state of mind as it is a combat form. Now you are wondering why I suggested that you learn just _Soresu_ and not _Djem So_? Simply put, you do not possess the physical strength to be a proper practioner of Djem, with your height and build _Soresu_ is better suited for you. The key to _Soresu_ is in the wrist, instead of maneuvering your saber with your hands, you maneuver it with your wrists. With a flick of your wrist you can move your saber; it requires that you have a light touch with your hands."

With that the two walked into the sparring chamber and saw Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. When Naes saw them, he smiled and called out "Master Kenobi, how are you?" 

Obi Wan looked over and smiled and said "Knight Nemelc good to see you." Then he frowned just a touch, and asked "Why is Padawan Sirgon with you?"

Naes answered "The Council just assigned her as my Padawan for me to complete her training. Do you mind if we spar, I want Rhea to see a _Soresu_ master at work?"

"No problem, though I would hardly classify myself a _Soresu_ master."

With that, Naes and Obi Wan began to circle each other in the middle of the floor, neither quite willing to commit to an attack just yet. Of course, Naes knew that was the nature of Soresu; never commit to an attack defend only in the opening stages. With that, Naes committed in a basic Djem opening move, a powerful over handed blow. With that the duel was on. Naes began to push Obi Wan back, but he knew once again that giving ground was part of Soresu. Naes also knew that Obi Wan would know the moves a Djem practioner; Anakin had chosen Djem as his personal form as well. Just then, to make the duel interesting, Naes threw in some very quick strikes from _Vaaped_. Obi Wan was able to block them, just barely and from the expression on his face Naes could tell that he was surprised. At that, Naes allowed himself to be fully immersed in the sparring session and let the Force guide his actions. He and Obi Wan continued in the give and take of a duel until Naes decided to set a trap for Obi Wan, he intentionally made a mistake in his move and when Obi Wan committed to a strike Naes turned and twisted next to Obi Wan, and slapped his saber down hard with a powerful close in overhand strike. The strike rattled Obi Wan's teeth, and knocked his saber out of position and before he could defend himself Naes had his saber up and at Obi Wan's throat. The duel was over; Obi Wan stood there, his eyes on Naes's saber and smiled.

"Very good move Naes, very ingenious; I don't think I have seen a move quite like that one."

"Probably not Master Kenobi, I have developed a really hybridized style to suit me and my strengths."

Anakin meanwhile had been watching the entire duel with just a hint of a sullen expression on his face. Even though he was only fifteen years old, he was already nearly as tall as Naes and Obi Wan. The flip side was that his skills still needed working on, though in his mind he was very advanced. He stepped forward inclined his head to Naes and said, "Master Nemelc would you mind sparring with me? I am sure that I can provide you with a challenge."

Naes looked over at Obi Wan and asked "Would it be alright if I sparred with your Padawan? At times it can be difficult finding a fellow _Djem So_ practioner. I promise to take it easy on him." Naes said with a smile.

Obi Wan looked at Anakin and then at Naes and said, "Feel free to, my over eager Padawan can take care of himself. And don't worry about taking it easy on him; he still needs to learn humility."

With that, Naes turned to Anakin, turned his lightsaber back on and saluted him. Immediately Anakin launched a furious full speed onslaught of Djem moves. At first Naes had a hard time keeping up with the onslaught, but then he allowed himself to sink into the Force and relaxed; allowing the Force to guide his actions. He could see Anakin as a fiery column of Force energy. His Force aura was one of reds and yellows, very bright and very brilliant. He fairly radiated Force energy off of himself. One day he would be a very powerful Jedi, there was no doubt about that; the only question is would he develop the wisdom and skills to truly be a great Jedi.

After a couple of minutes, Naes decided that it was time to switch from _Soresu_ to _Djem So_, from that time he placed Anakin on the defensive and kept him there, backing him around the room controlling the pace and speed of the sparring match. Naes from his Soresu training was accustomed to longer duration matches. So for him, his match with countered them all without a second thought, though he was not prepared just yet to claim victory. He was one with the Force.

Anakin being forced into being on the defensive for so long a period of time was new for him as well as unusual and totally unexpected; causing him to become frustrated. Even worse, his frustration was becoming evident for the onlookers as well. With the duel lasting this long Anakin was becoming winded and had begun to perspire profusely.

After several minutes of this, Naes decided that it was time to end the match; with a flourish he sprang Anakin's lightsaber from his grasp. At the same time he brought his lightsaber up and held it mere inches from Anakin's neck and without blinking or looking caught Anakin's lightsaber in his left hand. Anakin was standing there sweat pouring off of him and breathing hard, his anger at being handled so completely fairly rolling off of him. Naes, on the other hand had just a sheen of sweat and hardly any loss of breath, stepped back, deactivated both lightsabers and tossed Anakin his lightsaber and said, "Not a bad match, you did well for a Padawan your age."

Then Obi Wan stepped forward and said, "Anakin that is what happens when you decide that you wish to take on a fully trained Jedi, especially one who is gaining a reputation as one of the better Jedi swordsmen around today. You are good for your age, but Master Nemelc is a Jedi Master and he has a lot more experience than you do."

Just then Master Yoda came up, "Ah teaching sparring classes are we Master Nemelc. Put Master Drallig out of job your goal is?"

"Not at all Master Yoda, I wanted to show my Padawan the finer points of _Soresu_, and so Master Kenobi and I sparred briefly. Afterwards, young Skywalker wanted to test himself against me as well, so with Master Kenobi's permission we sparred as well."

Yoda looked at Naes for just a moment and then said, "Great potential you have, a master swordsman you will become. Even better, potential to be a great Jedi you have. First learn wisdom you must to accomplish that. Master Salgoud proud should be at your progress, tell him that I will. Come I have to give you and your padawan your next assignment. To Dac you will travel. Mediate a dispute between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren you must. Vital to the peace and stability of the Republic this is. Quickly must you go."

Naes inclined his to Yoda and said, "Then we shall leave for Dac immediately." Then he turned to Rhea and said, "I apologize, but it would appear that your sparring will have to wait for later."

With that he and Rhea headed to the main spaceport and their first assignment together as Master and Padawan.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Three**

In the year since Naes had taken Rhea as his Padawan, they had been sent on many dangerous missions. During that time, they had formed a bond of trust in each other that surpassed the bond between many Masters and Padawan's. Part of it may have been due to the fact that because of the closeness of their ages, it was more of a partnership than a teacher-student relationship. True, Naes was the senior partner, but he allowed Rhea to question him on decisions in private, and he always explained his decision making to her and allowed her to voice her own viewpoint. As a result, Rhea's skills in diplomacy and the lightsaber improved dramatically. Plus she had learned more about herself in that past year than she ever had before. She had improved so much in a year that she had just passed the Trials and was declared a full Jedi Knight. Naes took great pride and pleasure as he cut off her Padawan braid with his lightsaber.

Later that evening, he treated her to a dinner at a Coruscant restaurant. For the first time ever, they were able to truly talk as two equals. As they were talking, Naes realized that if he was not careful, he could develop real feelings for Rhea, of course the Jedi Order had forbidden attachment of any sort. Naes had heard stories of Padawan's becoming infatuated with each other. The most popular story of course that in their younger days Obi Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi were an item. Of course if you saw the two of them together you could not help but notice the bond they shared, their deep, mutual respect and admiration for each other. The problem of course was that he was not a Padawan, he and Rhea were both fully trained Jedi Knights, they should both be above this. This all gave him pause to think.

The next morning Naes was walking through the streets of Coruscant, Master Kenobi had told him that such a thing could help in clearing ones head, almost as much as meditation. Naes could not get himself calm enough to meditate properly. He was so deep in thought that he did not see the patron walk out of the caf shop. He did hear the grunt and felt the individual when he walked into them. Naes could tell from the impact and higher pitch in the voice that it was a female. He immediately stopped and looked to see where the hapless victim was. That was when he saw the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes he had ever seen. He shook his head, clearing some of the cobwebs and he heard her voice.

"Now if that isn't the worst hello and welcome to Coruscant that I have ever had Naes; what is it about you introducing yourself by running into me? I am beginning to think that being near you is hazardous for my health, first time I nearly get blown up and this time you smash into me and caf gets dumped all over me."

Naes looked in surprise; it was the last person he ever expected to see standing in front of him, surrounded by a light to medium purple aura, due to her lack of Force sensitivity it was subdued compared to that of a Jedi's but judging by the strength of the aura she had a strong personality. "Astra, Astra Marn, what are you doing here?"

"I just started my first semester at the Coruscant School of Healers, and I was getting me a cup of caf to start the day."

Naes knew he had to do something to make up for dumping caf all over her, her caf to boot. "Let me make it up to you, let me get you some more caf, do you have time to sit and talk for a few minutes?"

Astra looked at him and made a show of checking her watch, finally she relented and said "Sure, I have a few minutes, let's sit and talk and catch up on things. Last I saw, you were in deep discussion with Naboo security. Of course, we didn't get much time to talk then. So how are you doing, how is life as a Jedi?"

Naes laughed and smiled then said "I can tell that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." They sat together in café and talked for thirty minutes, Astra finally glancing at her timepiece and realizing how late it was hurried to get up and make an exit.

"My goodness, look at the time, if I don't hurry I will be late for my first class. Naes, I would love to talk to you some more, let me give you my com code so that you can give me a call." She said to him, as she was writing a series of numbers down on a napkin. "Call me anytime, if I don't answer just leave a message, I will reply as soon as I can." She said as she hurried out the door of the café.

Naes looked at the series of numbers, committed them to memory and programmed his comlink with the code.

**Two Weeks Later**

Naes was walking towards a diner near the Medical district; he was supposed to meet Astra at the diner in a few minutes for lunch. In the two weeks since they had run into each other they had met up with each other five times. Of course, between Naes duties as a Jedi and Astra's schooling there was not a lot of time as it was. Of course, Naes discretionary income for the occasional meal would run out quick at this rate. Dating was not conducive to a Jedi budget. When Naes returned from his upcoming mission, he was going to go and have a talk with a friend of his that Master Kenobi had introduced him to, Dexter Jetster or Dex to his friends. Dex for the most part ran a diner over towards the industrial sector, but Dex also knew a few shady friends here and there, and Naes and Obi Wan both knew that Dex provided some services that at best could be considered shady at best if not outright illegal. Maybe someone needing to make a quiet exit or have part of their past erased. Naes figured he could help people that had been forgotten by the Republic's bureaucracy and make a few extra credits on the side. When Palpatine was elected he promised to end special interests and graft. Both of which were worst than ever, so many innocents ground down by the rich and powerful. A few Senators genuinely tried to make a difference, Bail Organa being one of them. The problem was that such individuals were few and far between. Such thoughts were better left for another time.

Just then, Naes looked and he could see Astra approaching from the opposite side. Just the sight of her brightened his day and his outlook on the entire day changed completely. Astra was like a breath of fresh air, her presence soothing and calming. He walked up to her and smiled and said, "So what is a girl like you doing in front of a dive like this?"

She looked up at him and smiled, and said "My Jedi boyfriend suggested that we meet here for lunch."

Naes couldn't help but laugh at this one, one thing for sure about Astra, she was a quick thinker. She was certainly not normal. In fact, he could see similarities between her and Padme; especially in terms of personality. He stopped then and realized that it had been a long time since he had even thought of the Queen of Naboo. Of course, the last time he had even seen her or talked to her was during his mission there two years ago, the same mission where he had originally met Astra. He looked down at Astra her hazel eyes searching his for the reason that he had asked to meet her.

"Astra, let's go and sit down." Once they had found a table and had input their drink orders, Naes looked at her and said "Astra, I wanted to see you because I am being sent on a Jedi Mission this evening and before I left the planet, I really wanted to see you and spend time with you. I am not sure how long the mission will last. In fact the only thing I can tell you is that it involves the KDY drive yards, Outbound Flight and that Master Kenobi and his Padawan Skywalker will be joining me and my former padawan Rhea Sirgon. So it will probably be a while before I can see you, if I get an opportunity I will com you but I cannot have Obi Wan or Rhea seeing me com somebody on a regular basis. Unfortunately the Code prohibits any sort of attachment, especially romantic attachments. So for now we have to be discreet."

Just then a light shone in her eyes, "So that is why we have never met at the same place twice, never at any locales on the main boulevards and always in these smaller out of the way places that tend to be on the opposite side of the Medical District from the Jedi Temple."

"Unfortunately it is, please do not think that I am ashamed of you."

Astra looked at him with a twinkle in her eye and said "Oh don't worry I never thought you were ashamed of me, it might be that I am ashamed of my Jedi boyfriend. What would be said of me spending all this time with a gallant protector of the galaxy; diverting his attention away from his duties" she laughed at that one. With that they put aside their friendly banter and looked at their menus. Just before they departed the diner, Naes pulled Astra to him in an embrace and kissed her good-bye.

When they pulled away Astra looked up at him and said, "Wow"

Naes looked at her and said "I apologize; I had to do that before I left, give me something to look forward to when I return."

"Trust me, you better return, because I am looking forward to continuing."

**Two Weeks Later**

Naes was nervous, this was the first time he had ever met the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, but as one of the Jedi Masters that was involved in a mission with the ramifications that this one had, he had to be there to brief the Chancellor. He looked over and saw Obi Wan and Anakin as well. A frown crossed his face, why was Obi Wan's Padawan here? Rhea had not had to attend, in fact to the best of his knowledge there was no reason for Anakin to be here, he could be at the Temple. Next to Naes was Master Yoda, who looked up at him with a questioning look. Naes shook his head in the negative; he would voice his concerns with Yoda later. Now was not the time.

Just then the Chancellor walked into the Outer Office to show them in to his Inner Office, a large smile on his face with seeming sincerity, "Anakin my boy how good to see you. I trust that your recent mission was a success?"

There was something about the Chancellor that set Naes ill at ease. Just then the Chancellor turned to Naes, "My dear Master Nemelc, so good to finally meet you, I have read about many of your missions. You truly are an exceptional Jedi, if there is ever anything that I or my office can do for you; please feel free to let me know. I like to consider myself a friend of the Jedi. I look forward to hearing about your latest adventure."

All of that was said with a gracious and sincere smile, but there was something about the Chancellor that put Naes ill at ease. There was something not right about him. Naes was thinking all of this while the entire group filed into the Chancellor's office.

As the senior master on the recent mission, Obi Wan began to give the report, "As you know Chancellor, we were assigned to investigate several accidents at the Kuat Drive Yards. There has never been anything from any of the accident's that could point to sabotage. But still, the accidents were all in themselves suspicious. After several days it appeared that our mission was going to be a failure. Fortunately, after the seventh day on the station, Master Nemelc had been able to gain access to the yard foreman's personal files and after cross indexing with payroll, discovered several irregularities in his accounts. These irregularities led us to question the foreman, something must have spooked him because just as we were about to go to arrest him, several battle droids of the type used by the Trade Federation "malfunctioned" and attempted to do us harm."

Naes had to smile at that one, what Obi Wan called several was more along the lines of over one hundred battle droids. It had been touch and go for a few minutes, Naes and Anakin being the _Djem _masters took the front while Obi Wan and Rhea covered the sides and rear. Naes really did not know how many there were, after all it is difficult to count battle droids while you are busy turning them into spare parts and preparing them for the recycling bin. That is alright, the former battle droids would make someone an excellent dinner set. He could tell you that the battle droids filled the corridor with some coming from the sides and behind. Naes had to admit though that Anakin's saber skills were coming along real nicely. One day Anakin would be one of the greatest saber masters in the Order.

At the same time, Obi Wan was thinking back to that running battle in the corridor, Master Nemelc's prowess with a saber was astounding. Obi Wan had never seen such a combination of _Djem, Soresu, and Vaaped_ in his entire life. There were several times during the battle that Naes was a step or two ahead of Anakin and easily disposed of twice as many droids as Anakin, much less Obi Wan or Rhea. Easily within a few years Master Nemelc would rival Master's Yoda and Windu in his saber skills. But the report must continue, "Causing us to engage in a running battle in the corridor to arrest the yard foreman. Eventually all the malfunctioning droids were disposed of and we apprehended the foreman. I will let Master Nemelc finish, since it was with his detective work that we were able to complete our mission."

Darth Sidious was fuming inwardly, what Obi Wan Kenobi so flippantly referred to as several was in actuality 250 battle droids, all of them destroyed by the four Jedi on the mission. From secret video footage that Sidious had already seen, he could tell that Naes Nemelc alone had destroyed half of the battle droids. Nute Gunray was already moaning over the loss of so many battle droids, and had inquired as to who was going to pay for them to be replaced.

Naes started, "On the seventh day of the mission, I was able to gain access to the foreman's personal accounts, I was able to obtain those because he had fortunately left his computer unlocked," at that Yoda could feel a small ripple in the Force from Naes, causing him to look to Naes with a slight raise to his eyebrow.

Unbeknownst to Naes and Yoda, Darth Sidious felt that same small ripple in the Force, causing him to smile inwardly; there was something Naes was hiding from the Jedi. Naes was not as powerful as Anakin, but he was more focused and had accomplished much in the few years since he was knighted. And his name was showing up in several mission statements. He was quickly becoming a nuisance to Sidious. Sidious began to think that he should possibly cultivate a friendship with Naes as well, just in case things with Anakin did not pan out. It never hurt to have a back-up plan or three in place.

Naes continued unaware of Yoda's concern or the fact that he had just drawn the attention of the most dangerous man in the galaxy. "With his computer unlocked, I could see that he had received several payments from Rindali Star Drive to a secret account that was in his name. For some reason, Rindali wanted him to sabotage the work at KDY. When we questioned the shipyard master, he had no explanation for why the battle droids had malfunctioned, and claimed they had just been bought to help provide security for the shipyards. We arrested the foreman and turned him over to the local authorities for trial. I would suggest that the shipyard master be closely scrutinized as well, I do not feel that the yard foreman could have accomplished everything by himself, from my knowledge of engineering and having several discussions with Padawan Skywalker we have come to the conclusion that the yard foreman had at least one accomplice if not more."

Palpatine stood up and thanked all the Jedi present, "Good, thank you all so very much for your dedication and continued service to the Republic. I don't know what we would do without the Jedi to defend and protect us. And I can see Anakin that your training is progressing very well. And you Master Nemelc, if there is ever anything that I can do for you, please let me know. The Chancellor's office is here to serve you."

Naes could feel Anakin's anger at briefly being upstaged for the Chancellor's praise and admiration, but he ignored it after all either Obi Wan or Yoda could deal with it far better than he. "Thank you sir, I will keep that in mind should I ever need assistance."

As they were leaving the Chancellor's office, Naes stopped in the hallway and said, "Master Yoda, please continue on without me, there is a brief stop that I need to make before I return to the Temple."

Several minutes later, Naes was in front of Astra's door, he had flashed the few security cams in the building, and had cloaked himself in the Force, so that any passerby's would consider him another inconsequential student that was not worthy of their attention or time. Just then Astra opened her door and Naes walked in before she could say a word and when the door closed behind him he scooped her up in his arms in an embrace and kissed her. When they parted, he looked at her and said "It is so good to see you, I got back just a few hours ago and Master Yoda insisted that I assist in giving my report to the Chancellor. But before I returned to the Temple, I had to stop and see you and let you know that I was safe. I cannot stay long, in a couple of days I will comm you to set up a dinner date." With that he departed her building to return to the Temple.

At his return to the Temple, he went to Master Yoda, for Naes had concerns and questions. "Master Yoda, I have my reservations about the Chancellor, I feel a certain level of darkness around him and he feels oily and as if he is not to be trusted. And why his great interest in Padawan Skywalker?"

"Knight Nemelc, your feelings can serve you well, mindful you should be of them. A politician the Chancellor is a very good one; perhaps that is why you are uneasy with him? With any politician there is a degree of dishonesty to be expected. Perhaps that is what you have felt? Think on it you should. As for his interest in Skywalker, remember you should the role Skywalker played in freeing his home world of Naboo from the Trade Federation some six years ago. Since then the Chancellor has kept an eye on Skywalker and has cultivated a friendship with him. Out of gratitude I would say for what Skywalker did to save his planet."

"I see your point master; I just still feel there is more to the Chancellor than we know. And that worries me. But I will follow the lead of the Council and submit to their wisdom."

"Most excellent Knight Nemelc, a wise Jedi you will be one of these days. Go now, rest you must from your recent mission. May the Force be with you."

With that Naes departed from Master Yoda, heading to his quarters his head full of turmoil and questions. He could tell that he would need to meditate before going to sleep tonight. Hopefully the Force would provide some insight for him. For despite Master Yoda's assurances Naes still did not trust the Chancellor he could feel a cloak of darkness around the Chancellor, something deeper than just being a politician.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Four**

The next morning Naes awoke with his head still full of questions and turmoil. But he awoke with one conviction; a Sith Lord was influencing the Chancellor. That was the only explanation he could come up with. There was an oily darkness about the Chancellor. Naes decided that he would do well to keep an eye on the Chancellor, but it was also apparent that the Master's Council did not see that; and judging from Master Yoda's reaction last night to Naes's concerns last night that he would not listen this morning. Naes knew that the Jedi would need every possible hand trained and ready to face whatever evil the galaxy had awaiting them. That meant that he would have to take a young Padawan and begin that Padawan's training. First thing that he needed to do was go and pay Dex a visit about doing some side work and talk to him about setting up a system to make a quiet and discreet exit from Coruscant without anyone knowing about it. And that was because if there was a Sith Lord influencing Palpatine, then the Republic and the Core Worlds were going to get very unfriendly at some point in time, and it always paid to be prepared.

Naes walked into Dex's Diner and saw Dex behind the counter in the kitchen. He looked up and said "Naes so good to see you here, how are you doing? What can I help you with?" Dex stepped through the door leading from the kitchen and wrapped Naes in his four arms. "How is Obi Wan and Anakin?"

Naes struggled for a breath and finally got out, "I am doing fine, just got back from a mission with Obi Wan and Anakin. They are doing fine."

Dex let him go, stepped back and looked at him.

Naes said, "Dex, can I speak to you about some things that are highly confidential and private?"

"Sure thing, we can talk in my back office."

Naes understood what he meant immediately. Dex possessed two offices, the official office for the diner behind the kitchen. And hidden behind a secret wall panel was a second office, for any meetings that were strictly need to know, and totally off the record.

Once in Dex's back office, Naes first said, "Dex I need to talk to you about the possibility of me doing some part time slicing work for you, strictly on the need to know basis, I don't want anyone else knowing about it not even any other Jedi. The reason is that I have started seeing someone and in order to continue dating I need some extra discretionary funds. I am coming to you because I know that you are a good person and as a rule you try to help those that need a hand up that have been caught up in the unforgiving gears of bureaucracy. I can do the slicing work from just about anywhere for the most part, if you don't mind, I would prefer to do it here, keep it separate from Jedi business."

Dex nodded and said, "I see, yes sometimes girlfriends can get expensive. There was this one girl that I met back when I was prospecting on Subterrel. But that is another story. There are times that I am in need of a good slicer that knows how to operate under the table as it were. What I can do is call you on your comm and let you know to come down here, where I can give you the particulars. What else did you want to discuss?"

"Dex, I have reason to believe that the Chancellor has fallen under the control of a Dark Lord of the Sith. If that is the case, then at some point people will want to get off of Coruscant whenever everything goes down. We need to start preparing for the day that happens."

"Are you sure about the Chancellor?" Dex asked. "What does Master Yoda think about this?"

"I told Yoda about my apprehensions last night, he dismissed the oily dark feeling I got from Palpatine to his being a consummate politician. I have spent time with other politicians, I do not get that same feeling from them, thus I must disagree with Master Yoda, I feel the oily dark feeling I get is a by product of his being controlled by a Sith Lord. The only thing that I am suggesting is that we start preparing for the day everything goes south. Have a plan in place; try to save as many people as we can. Though I recognize that will only be a handful."

"Yes, that is very true, I will start laying the ground work, may I suggest that we have in place a small cadre of people that remain on Coruscant to provide the foundation for a resistance group here on Coruscant."

"Yes, until then we will keep our ears open and let's be a tad choosy on inviting anyone into our little private group."

Dex agreed, "Yes, you are correct, for now we will consult with each other before inviting anyone else into our private club." After that, Naes left to have a talk with Master Yoda.

A couple hours later Naes was approaching Yoda in the area where he was training younglings.

"Master Yoda, I wish to speak with you about a couple matters. First, I still have grave misgivings about the Chancellor; I feel that he has fallen under the control of a Sith Lord. There is no other way for me to explain the darkness that surrounds him."

"Knight Nemelc, if what you say is true, then possible it is that the Republic is already lost. For that would mean that a Sith is in control of the Republic and the Senate and that the Jedi Order answers to a Sith Lord. A dangerous place this takes us to. See I can that no dissuading you from this opinion. Quietly investigate you must then, and let us hope the truth you find before it is too late for us all it is. Confide in you one thing I will, only the Council knows of this, blind are we, the rise of the Sith we have not foreseen, whomever this dark lord of the Sith is, powerful is he. Our ability to use the Force diminished it has been. Foresee the future the Council no longer can do. The Force is out of balance. Wonder have you not why so many powerful Jedi there are now? Master Windu, Master Kenobi, myself, strong are you in the Force the makings of a powerful Jedi you have, and look at young Skywalker, uncharted strength does he have. An attempt by the Force to balance things it is. Not since Ulic Qel-Droma, Vima and Nomi Sunrider some 4000 years ago during the Great Sith War have so many powerful Jedi been around."

"I have never thought about those things Master Yoda, all I have ever tried to do is be the best Jedi that I could be, to continuously grow in my knowledge and wisdom, to serve the Order to the very best of my ability."

"True, and humble you are in regards to your abilities and attitude, the mark of a fine Jedi that is. Now what else is it that you wish to discuss with me?"

"Master Yoda, I wish to take a Padawan learner to train from the initiates that we have here at the Temple."

"Go then you must, pass through the initiates; find your Padawan you will."

Naes was passing through the initiates in training near the sparring room when he saw two young boys sparring with one another, Naes knew the first one, his name was Ahsok, he was 13 and rather tall for his age, despite his skill with a lightsaber, none of the masters had taken him as a padawan. The other boy Naes did not know, he appeared to be a couple years younger than Ahsok and if that was the case was of average height. It was obvious that the younger boy did not possess the training that Ahsok had, of course for an initiate at that stage two years was a big skill difference. Whoever he was, despite the height and skill disadvantage, he was giving his all to the duel. And a time or two, he was giving Ahsok a good run for his money. Naes decided that he wanted to find out more about this young initiate and so stuck around for the duel to end.

When both initiates were too tired to continue they lowered their training sabers and turned to leave; when they saw Master Nemelc watching them; both looked surprised to see him watching their sparring session. Naes stepped forward and said, "Nice work Ahsok, excellent sparring session, you are progressing well in your saber skills. You are dismissed." Ahsok bowed slightly and left.

Naes then turned to the initiate and asked "What is your name young one?"

The young initiate looked up at Naes and said, "My name is Ezriel Jobal, Master Nemelc."

"Well Ezriel Jobal, why may I ask were you dueling with an advanced initiate like Ahsok? He was almost too much for you to handle. How old are you any way?"

"I am eleven years old Master, I was dueling Ahsok so that I could learn and advance my dueling skills."

"You know that there are some Jedi that say that once you draw your lightsaber that you have already lost the battle. Dueling skills are important, but a Jedi must also develop other skills as well; diplomacy, negotiation, empathy, investigations, being in tune with the will of the Force. I will tell you that all of those skills are important. I will also tell you that there are people out there in the galaxy that will not negotiate in good faith. Some that will not listen until a lightsaber is drawn. So when you draw your lightsaber, make sure that you have exhausted all other avenues of negotiation and that you have no other course of action, drawing your saber is a last resort action. If you are forced to draw your lightsaber, you have already forfeited much of your advantage. A Jedi trusts the Force and at first seeks other ways to resolve problems: patience, logic, tolerance, attentive listening, negotiation, persuasion, calming techniques. But there are times when a Jedi must fight. And also always bear in mind that a Jedi is here to serve. Serve the Force, the public good and to serve the Republic."

"Yes Master, thank you so much for your insight."

"Tell me Ezriel, has anyone taken you for their Padawan yet?"

"No Master, none have taken me as a Padawan. Why do you ask?"

"Ezriel, how would you like to be my Padawan?"

He looked up at Naes with gratitude and wonder in his young eyes and said "Why thank you Master Nemelc. Thank you so much. I promise that I will not let you down and that I will always try my very best to be the best Padawan ever."

"That is good Ezriel, the only thing that I ask of you is that you take the things that I teach you to heart and apply them. Even if you do not fully understand why at the time, I promise that later in due time everything I teach you will make sense to you. Let's go and let the Council know."

Just then as they turned to head to the Council Chambers Master Yoda walked up, "Master Nemelc, trust I do that your Padawan you have found?"

"Yes Master Yoda, I have found my Padawan, but how did you know?"

"Strong am I in the Force, guide me it does. Told me it did that a Padawan you would take, I knew though from personalities that choose you would Ezriel, a good match the two of you are." Then looking at Ezriel he said, "Padawan Jobal, listen to the teachings of Master Nemelc you must, wise is he, much he will teach you. Go I will to inform the rest of the Council, Master Nemelc go and arrange quarters you must."

**Later That Evening**

Naes was in front of Astra's door once more. It was surprisingly easy for a Jedi to get around unnoticed in this building. And just to make sure that no one could tie the sensor disruptions to Astra, Naes had gone up two extra floors and briefly disrupted the sensors on those floors. She opened her door and he stepped on through, taking her into his arms. I know that I said I would comm in a couple days, but I wanted to see you again tonight, I have had a busy day today. First, I am convinced that the Chancellor is under the control of a Sith Lord.

Astra was shocked by what Naes had just said and she drew her breath in sharply, "Are you sure? I remember when he served as Senator for Naboo; he was always looking out for our best interests. He has always appeared to be a good and decent man."

"Astra, I have no proof, just a suspicion really, a worried feeling in the back of my head. When I met with him yesterday afternoon, I felt as if I was in a spider's lair. As well as there was an oily dark feeling that I was getting off of him; I have been around politicians many times, until yesterday I did not get a feeling from anyone that fairly yelled darkside to me like I did yesterday. It almost felt like he had been dipped in lubricant. The feeling was that oily and dark. Master Yoda has tasked me to find proof of my suspicions. Either way Astra, live light, be prepared to leave Coruscant at a moments notice."

"Why do you say that Naes? Why should I be prepared to leave the planet at a moments notice?"

"Even if the Chancellor is not controlled by a Sith Lord, there is one somewhere here on Coruscant and in a position of influence; eventually they will make their play. And when they do it will be a bad time for the Republic and especially here on Coruscant, even more so if you are a Jedi. Thus it would be a very good time to make a nice and discreet exit from the planet. And if I am making a discreet exit I will want to take you with me. And trust me, you do not want to be on Coruscant when a Sith Lord is in charge, it would become a police planet with no rights or freedoms very fast.

"I have heard of them in legend but what precisely is a Sith?"

"A Sith is an individual that first and foremost uses the dark side of the Force, raw emotions such as pain, fear, anger, hate, and lust are used to draw on the dark side. There have been many Sith sects and organizations over the course of recorded history. The Sith were originally an off shoot of the Jedi Order, and all the organizations have had two things in common, first the destruction of the Jedi Order and the enslavement of the galaxy. Jedi gain their power through the light side, when we are at peace and calm. Sith use their power for their own benefit and to hurt others, Jedi use our power for knowledge and wisdom, to defend the weak and helpless. I hope that explains things for you."

"Yes it does, I at least have an idea of the differences."

"Also, I should tell you that I have taken one of the younglings in the crèche as my Padawan or apprentice to teach him the ways of the Force. I will have a little less time to spend with you and will need to be careful and be sure to not stay out too late as the Padawan will share quarters with me. No need for him to find out about an attachment that I have formed with someone. I can just hear Master Yoda saying, 'Knight Nemelc, know you that attachment to a Jedi forbidden is. Why then form you would an attachment?' And right after that I would be expelled from the Order."

With that, Astra snuggled in closer to Naes and said, "I would leave Coruscant for you any time. But I also know how important it is to you to be a Jedi and a protector of the Republic. So whatever you need to do to keep us a secret from your Padawan do."

"Thanks Astra, that really means a lot to me. I must be going, I do not want to be out too late my first night with a Padawan." With that Naes grinned and left Astra's quarters to make his way back to the Jedi Temple and the newest chapter in his life; a Jedi Knight responsible for the training of a Padawan from the beginning to hopefully completion of the Trials.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Five**

From the view out the window Naes could determine several things, first he was on Coruscant no other planet had to continuous traffic coming and going that Coruscant had; second he was quite a ways up because he was overlooking the majority of the sky traffic. Finally, third he could tell that it was night outside, from the way the vehicles and buildings were lit against the dark backdrop. The room was like no other room he had seen before. He would almost describe the room as an industrial throne room, complete with walkways and gantries and full of shadows. Naes first reaction was that someone must have been too cheap to spring for power or lights. The room was nearly 7 meters tall, and a split level, with the second level being 3 meters high. To the right from floor to ceiling was a large viewport. And judging from the reflection in the transparasteel, Naes had aged about ten years, Naes would guess his age to be early thirties. A series of steps led to the upper level of the room. Seated on a throne in front of another floor to ceiling viewport was a hooded figure, and standing next to the throne was an imposing figure 2 meters tall in some sort of black mask that from the sounds emanating from the standing figure was some sort of life support suit. Between the darkness of the room and the hood and overhang of the throne Naes could not make out any features on the seated figure. He could tell that both figures were strong in the Force and both were steeped in such darkness that any other time Naes would have been sickened.

Just then, a dozen red robed figures stepped out from behind the stairs. Naes first reaction was that they were an evolution of the purple clad Senatorial guards. They appeared to be carrying Force Pike's, and they radiated deadly intent. That is when Naes realized that he was not alone, that there were seven other people with him and all of them radiated in the Force. Then Naes realized that in addition to being at the head of a group of Force sensitives that he himself fairly surged with power. He looked down and saw that he himself was wearing a black tunic and pants along with a black robe and hood. His companions clothing was a mish mash, some wore traditional Jedi garb, others wore more contemporary clothing, others wore the darker garb like Naes, one thing in common they all were armed with lightsabers and radiated focus on their objective at hand.

Just then, Naes spoke, "Your reign is at an end Darth Sidious, you and your lackey Vader have terrorized the galaxy long enough." Naes turned and said "Secretus you and Strife guard the door and do not let anyone in."

The seated figure sneered and said, "And who do you think you are that you give orders in my very throne room?" The voice was raspy and obviously used to giving orders that were never questioned.

Naes looked up at him and said, "I am Darth Imperious, Lord and Master of the Order of the Light Sith."

"Light Sith; what abomination is that?"

"We use the Force as a totality, there is no light side and there is no dark side. What matters are your intentions when you use it, we wish to bring order to the galaxy, just not at the extreme cost that you and Vader are bent on."

"Ha, you and your pathetic order and band will soon be joining the Jedi on the dust heap of history. Compared to me and Lord Vader, you are nothing."

"You are wrong, for you see most of us here were Jedi, we escaped the Purge, we learned the doctrines and teachings of our enemy, adapted them to suit us, to create an order like no other ever seen in the galaxy. We have combined the teachings of the Jedi and of the Sith. We have combined the best of both worlds."

Just then Sidious let loose with Force Lightening, Naes calmly held his right hand up absorbing the power then he raised his left hand and directed Sidious's own lightening right back at him, with a boost given by Naes. The blast knocked Sidious back 3 meters and smoke was rising from his black robes. He rose shaking his head, never had he been hit with that sort of power before in his life. It was obvious this whelp was powerful and trained very well. Sidious would never have allowed any of his apprentices to be that well trained.

At the same time that Sidious was thrown back, Vader took a step towards the edge of the stairs and glanced back at his master and lit his lightsaber. Sidious got up off the ground somewhat shaken, with some residual smoke still rising from his robes. Much more lightening like that and he was going to be scarred even worse than in his duel with Mace Windu. He could tell that this was going to be a serious confrontation. "Guards, deal with that scum."

Naes knew then that the time for negotiations was over, "Triumph, Malevolent, Rogue deal with the red robes. Diaz and Antagonist, I want you to deal with Vader. I will take care of Sidious. With that Naes leapt from a standing position four meters up and landed at the top of the stairs with his green lightsaber lit and ready.

Vader stepped forward and in a deep bass voice said "You spoke too soon Imperious, or should I call you Naes Nemelc. You will have to deal with me first. Yes, I know your true identity; a Jedi of your purity could never embrace anything pertaining to the dark side. You are just as short sighted and foolish as the rest of the Jedi."

Naes was caught by surprise, whoever Vader was, he knew Naes from his days as a Jedi. Naes brought up his lightsaber to deal with the onslaught Vader was about to unleash on him. He parried the first couple of blows and knew then that he had dueled Vader before, he could not place where or when they had dueled. An individual's fighting style was just like a fingerprint, each style was unique to that individual. No matter the disguises or masks one might wear, their fighting style was their own. Whatever had happened to Vader had altered his style enough to throw Naes off as to who his opponent was. Naes flipped over Vader and before he could turn around did a spin kick and knocked him off the edge and down the stairs Vader went, barely missing Diaz and Antagonist as they had begun to walk up the stairs. Naes shouted down to them "Careful, he is a _Djem So_ master." Naes then turned his attention to Sidious. "Now your highness; surrender and face trial, or be executed here and now."

"Fool, you will never defeat me and Vader," Sidious growled and drew a lightsaber.

Naes then revealed his final secret, "You're wrong Sidious, even as we speak the rest of my Order is hunting down your Dark Side Prophets, your Force sensitive Inquisitors are being hunted down as well. We're here to personally take care of you and Vader. We have already dispatched most of the dark side adepts here in your palace."

Just then Sidious flew and spun through the air, letting out a howl that was more animalistic than human. Instantly he was on Naes striking with a lightsaber he had hidden in the sleeve of his robe. Naes was in the fight of his life, Sidious was a master of multiple lightsaber combat forms, Naes could see _Ataru, Soresu, Djem So, _and most surprisingly of all _Vaaped_. Naes could not concentrate on trying to figure out who was underneath the hood; he was too busy fighting for his life. He barely had time to spare to see how the rest of his band was doing. Naes parried the quick strikes of Vaaped and delivered a few of his own. He thought back to his lessons with Mace Windu, they were valuable and coming in very handy right about now. Naes knew that Sidious was going to give this duel his all, he had no choice. In order to keep his position he would have to defeat Naes and the rest the team. And that started with killing Naes.

Naes knew first of all that he would have to have faith in his team and in their training. The ones with him know in the throne room he had hand picked to join him in this most important job. Sidious and Vader had to be defeated; all the others if push came to shove would find the nearest hole and hide under for another thousand years unless they had a strong leader like Sidious to give them their focus. Naes parried another rapid series of strikes, again just barely. Sidious was fast and merciless. Naes then felt a stirring in the Force and leapt to the side and just soon enough because Sidious had unleashed a blast Force Push right where he had been standing a moment ago. Just as Naes was replanting his fee, Sidious let loose with another volley of Force Lightening. Naes caught it on his lightsaber, barely. Sidious was too far away to turn it back on him. That was alright, he was so intent on trying to overpower Naes defenses with his lightening he left himself open to attack himself. While holding his lightsaber with his left hand, Naes used his right hand to Force Push Sidious. That knocked him across the room, giving Naes the time he needed.

He leapt across the room to confront Sidious again, "Now your highness; lets try this again." Naes set his feet and submerged himself into the Force, allowing all aspects of the Force to flow through him. This time when Sidious moved to engage him, Naes was ready with a flurry of blows, blocking and parrying anything Sidious had and returning quite a few blows himself. Naes began to move back and forth from the defense of _Soresu_ to the offence of _Djem So_ with no problem and throwing some quick strikes of _Vaaped_ in also. Naes let himself sink deeper into the Force, as he did so, his skills in _Vaaped_ merged with his other fighting skills. Mace Windu said that _Vaaped_ can form a superconductive loop with the darkside, causing it to feed on itself; apparently _Vaaped_ helped in forming a superconducting loop mindset. Of course Master Windu said that _Vaaped_ was as much a mind set as it was a combat form. Naes could feel himself submerged into the superconducting loop of the Force; it took supreme strength of will not to give in entirely to the darkness permeating the loop. Just then Sidious jumped back and shut off his lightsaber.

Sidious then said with a sneer "This will not be decided by our knowledge of the lightsaber, but rather by one's knowledge and strength in the Force." With that Sidious began using the Force to throw everything on that level that was not too overly bolted down at Naes. Naes calmly advanced toward Sidious, using a Force Shield to deflect some, slicing others in half with his lightsaber and calmly flicking his fingers here and there to divert the rest. When Sidious had used everything at his disposal, Naes reholstered his lightsaber. Sidious tried some more Force Lightening, again Naes caught it with his hand and sent it right back at Sidious. Right after that, Naes raised his hands and unleashed a torrent of Force Lightening at Sidious, knocking him to the ground. About that time, Naes could feel in the Force that Rogue, Triumph, and Malevolent had defeated the last of the red robes. Sidious again began to stand, this time Naes began accumulating the Force into an energetic ball in his right hand and hurled it at Sidious. Again Sidious was knocked back some three meters. Just then Naes heard Vader give a blood curdling howl, Naes glanced down to see Diaz and Antagonist administer the final coup de grace on Vader. He then turned his attention back to Sidious and called his lightsaber to his hand and said, "Now Lord Sidious surrender."

He looked at Naes and snarled "Never shall I surrender. You and your pitiful band will pay for everything that you have done. I will strike your band down and take you as my new apprentice. I had always considered you a possible candidate should my plans for Lord Vader not come to fruition." With that, Sidious launched a massive assault upon Naes's mind. Naes had heard of such mind to mind mental assaults before. Rumor had it that thousands of years ago the most powerful and advanced Sith Lords that were so steeped in darkness that they could perform similar feats. Naes and his Order of the Light Sith had not practiced or subscribed to such a practice all having felt that such a thing as a direct mental assault and imprisonment of the mind was too dark. They may have not practiced such assaults, but Naes did have a few defenses that he could use if he could ever get the time to implement them. The assault was brutal, Naes was barely holding his own defensively, much longer and he might actually be defeated.

He staggered and stumbled back, grunting with effort to forestall the inevitable. Just then the assault let up just a moment, Naes glanced to see what was happening and saw that Sidious had briefly turned his attention to hurl Force Lightening at Diaz and Antagonist; Naes saw them fall down the stairs, barely caught by Rogue, Triumph, and Malevolent. Sidious then snarled "I shall deal with you interlopers soon enough, after I deal your leader here." But those few seconds is what Naes needed to analyze the attack, and he began constructing the mental walls and barriers that he needed to withstand the continued assault. When Sidious again turned his full attention on Naes, he was surprised that he was meeting so much resistance this time. This only served to anger him further and step up the power. Naes backed up another step; he fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. The entire room was awash in dark side power, a veritable Force Storm was being unleashed. The room was already strewn with rubble from the various lightsaber duels; this though if it continued would probably destroy the room. Force Storms could be quite destructive. Naes's team could do nothing but stand at the bottom of the stairs and watch and hope that he would be able to pull through.

Eventually the assault leveled out and did not increase any further; Sidious was using his full power. Even though he was on his knees, Naes's walls and defenses for the most part were holding up. Then Naes began to go on the offensive and push back, he would push back and build a new wall, gather his strength and push again. All the time analyzing the attack, looking for weaknesses; then he saw Sidious biggest weakness, the attack for all its brutality and strength was not subtle but rather composed of brute force. Naes began to counter attack, but to do so in subtle ways, a pinprick here and a pinprick there. He also wrapped his mind and body in figurative armor made out of pure light. With that done, Naes waded into the fray of Sidious mental attack. The room shook from the power the two combatants were unleashing against each other. Finally Sidious fell to the ground gasping for air. Naes came out of his trance and stepped forward, "Now Sidious, surrender."

Darth Sidious called his lightsaber to his hand and attempted to strike at Naes. Naes batted the saber aside and delivered the death blow to Sidious. He looked down at his friends below and gave them a wan smile and sat on the floor to catch his strength. As his friends were running up the stairs, he started issuing orders, "Diaz, call a special session of the Senate; let them know that there are going to be a few changes in the government. Antagonist, get with the rest of the teams deployed and find out their status. Send help where possible; you have the list of those in the bureaucracy that are loyal to us. Triumph, I want you, Secretus, Strife, Rogue, and Malevolent to keep an eye on the Senate during my address, let me know which ones are going to be a problem as well as those that will be supportive. I already have a list of a handful that will back me. After my address to the Senate, Diaz and Antagonist I want you two to contact the military and inform them of the change of power. Those that are cooperative you know what to do with as well as those that are not cooperative. Also, disband the 501st. We will reform the Stormtrooper Corps; after all of them undergo basic marksmanship training for moving targets. I want a couple of legions that are Spec Ops capable and the elite of the corps, the legions will be known as the 1001st and the 901st." He then felt in the Force for his love, Darth Tempus and sent her a message via the Force, "Meet me at the Senate Rotunda."

An hour later, Naes stood atop the center dais of the Senate Rotunda, with Antagonist and Diaz behind him, their hoods hiding their features from prying eyes and with Tempus standing beside him, all giving him their silent support. "I am here to inform you of several major changes being made to the structure of the Imperial government. First, I am declaring myself to be the second Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Two the excesses of my predecessor will not be tolerated. This is a government that will be based on the rule of law and not the abuse of power. Third, I am directing the formation of an election commission to oversee the popular election of Sector Governor's in six months. These governors will be responsible for the overseeing and governing of their individual sectors as executive officers. Fourth, in one year every sector will elect for themselves representatives to the Imperial Senate with a President of the Imperial Senate to be elected popularly from a galaxy wide election. This President will act as a senate leader of the legislative branch, while the office of Emperor will reside permanently as an Executive office with all the powers and privileges there of. And finally fifth, I am declaring the ban on Jedi to be null and void. I welcome to the government any Jedi who wish to come forth and assist in healing the wounds inflicted upon our great galaxy these past few years."

Upon that, Naes woke with a start his body soaked in sweat, he checked his chrono and saw that it was nearly dawn. He dressed and immediately went to see Master Yoda, his head full of questions as to what precisely he had dreamed. Was it just a dream or a premonition? Naes knew that the Force could give premonitions, especially to those that had an exceptionally high midichlorian count. If this was a premonition, it was a particularly disturbing premonition to Naes. A Jedi Purge, a ban on Jedi in general. The little that Naes could recall was that Jedi were considered as enemies of the state.

After relating his dream to Yoda, Yoda commented, "A premonition from the Force this was, dark days for the Jedi ahead there are; careful must the Jedi be. More cooperation with the government we must foster. Careful must you be, remember you must that there is a difference between the Dark Side and the Light Side, there is no Whole Force. A pit fall for you that is, a warning for you this premonition is as well. Any clue as to who this Sidious was? Or his apprentice Darth Vader?"

"No Master Yoda, the only thing that I can tell you about Sidious is that he is one of the most powerful Force practitioners I have ever seen. Someone that has studied and trained in the some of the darkest Sith arts possible. And he hates the Jedi with a passion, he is very twisted and devious. Whoever he is, he knows the Jedi, because he mentioned that if his plans for Vader had not come to fruition that I was one he had for consideration for turning. In the dream, if I had not subscribed to and studied Sith techniques I would not have fared nearly so well. The only thing that I can tell you about Vader is that he is tall, a cyborg of some sort in the dream, he cannot breathe without the aid of his suit. Very powerful in the Force, and whoever he is, I have dueled him before, here in the real world; my guess is that whatever injuries he sustained caused him to change his fighting style to some degree. Whoever it is, they are a _Djem So _practioner and a very good one at that. And he knew me quite well; enough that he attempted to deliver a taunt or two."

"Go now, back to your Padawan, train him you shall continue. But also bear in mind that any of us can fall or be turned to the Dark Side, use that as a warning for you and for others. Meditate upon all that you have told me I will."

Naes left Yoda's quarters, though he was still worried about the dream he had earlier. Naes decided that he would return to his quarters and meditate on the dream himself. Maybe the Force would give him some answers or at the very least give him some peace.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Love of a Jedi **(c. 7yrs after Phantom)

**Chapter Six**

It had been a week since Naes had his vision and six months since he had taken Ezriel Jobal as a Padawan. Ezriel's training was progressing nicely, but due to his youth and lack of skill with a lightsaber, they had been limited to the occasional low key diplomatic missions. Early one morning, as Naes and Ezriel were finishing their breakfast, Master Yoda walked in. "Master Nemelc an assignment I have for you; one particularly suited to your peculiar talents. You and Knight Sirgon will be heading for Cato Neimodia this afternoon."

"Master, don't you think that a trip to Cato Neimodia is rather dangerous for one as young as Ezriel?"

"Your Padawan, stay here he will, with me he will stay, gone while you are, train him I will. Go you must with Knight Sirgon to Cato Neimodia."

"Yes Master Yoda, Ezriel beware of Master Yoda's Root Stew, despite what he says you really do not want to eat it. Now Ezriel go and pack a few things for while you stay with Master Yoda." As Ezriel left the room Naes turned back to Yoda and asked, "What is so important that you are sending me and Rhea to Cato Neimodia, we were the trouble shooter team, if there is an exceptionally difficult assignment the Council either sent Kenobi and Skywalker or Rhea and I."

"Know I do what you can do with computers, after your report to the Chancellor six months ago, asked I did your former master, Master Salgoud what you might have been keeping hidden from the Council and he told me. A secret well it should be kept, but your talent is needed. The Neimodian's are threatening to join the Separatist movement Count Dooku is promoting. The Council needs to know what their plans really are. Highly dangerous is the mission, a certain degree of subterfuge is called for. More missions like this you will be called upon to partake in, your Padawan too young still he is for such missions, stay behind he will have to, others watch him they will while you are gone. Dangerous the galaxy has become, difficult times for the Republic ahead there is."

"As you wish Master Yoda, I will join Rhea on this mission. What is our cover?"

"No cover, two Jedi paying their respects to a highly respected member world of the Republic, the Council holds Cato Neimodia in such high regard we send one of our best teams to pay our respects and hopefully improve relations between us."

"And the idea is that at some point while we are left alone I can persuade the computer network on Cato Neimodia to divulge its information and find any proof the Council may need."

**Five Months Later**

Naes was returning from another mission with Rhea, five months and five missions in dangerous territory. Naes saw as much of Rhea as he did Ezriel, and some where in there he had to make the time for Astra and some side work for Dex; and before he left on this last mission with Rhea, Astra appeared to be unusually distant and withdrawn. Naes could understand to a degree, Astra was his girlfriend but over the past few months he spent as much time off planet away from her as he did on planet. And of course, Ezriel was wanting to join Naes on the missions as well, Naes did not blame him, every time Naes left for a mission, Ezriel was shuffled off to whatever master could be spared. The time away from the one on one attention and education from Naes had hurt Ezriel's development as a Padawan and hindered the development of his saber skills. The one good thing out of all this was that in his occasional sparring sessions with Master Windu, Naes could actually hold his own. All that practice he got from practicing his sword work under live fire and aggressive negotiations was paying off. Naes was off to see Astra; he was looking forward to decompressing and spending time with her.

Naes knocked on Astra's door, she opened it and saw that it was him and stepped aside. It had been a little over a year since they had begun dating; she was getting acclimated to her second year studies as a healer's assistant. She was a little cold to him, and then "So how was your mission with Rhea?"

"What is that supposed to mean, I do not choose who I am partnered with, I have tried to explain to you that Rhea and I are/were one of the best teams there is or was. I have tried to tell you that when there is a problem and it is extremely dangerous, the Council either sends Kenobi and Skywalker or me and Rhea."

"Yes, I know that with my mind, but seeing you leave with Rhea every month tells my heart something totally different. Why are you and Rhea so good together?"

"After a disaster of a mission to Zeltros a few years back Rhea had lost her original master, the Council trying to get me to take a Padawan and I kept refusing because I was being sent on dangerous solo missions and could not in good conscience take a youngling with me kept refusing the Council. After the death of Rhea's master I was ordered to take her as my Padawan. The unusual part is that I am just about three months older than Rhea, though I had already passed my Trials a year earlier. Rhea was not ready for the Trials so I was asked to complete her training. That lasted a year, even after her Knighting she and I were such a good team as Master and Padawan that we continued to work together as two Knights. And then right after I met you I decided that I would take a youngling as my Padawan, Ezriel. Unfortunately you see the same news reports as I do, in the last six months the galaxy has taken a turn for the worst and has become a very dangerous place. As such, you want your very best teams on the front lines as it were."

"I may not like it, but I do understand it. It is tough sometimes having a boyfriend that is constantly saving the galaxy because that means that he is never there to spend time with you, but your love and compassion for everyone around you is what attracted me to you in the first place and why I love you so much. So I guess I will have to learn how to share you with the rest of the galaxy."

As Naes was sitting there on Astra's couch with her snuggled up next to his chest, he began contemplating a few things in his life. He loved being a Jedi, it was his calling in life, assisting those unfortunates in the galaxy. He felt that sometimes the Masters on the Council forgot what being a Jedi truly was. Naes had always felt that a Jedi did not just serve the Force; he served the greater interests of the galaxy and the greater interests of justice. But in the year that Naes had spent with Astra, he had grown to love her as well. Only once years ago had he contemplated leaving the Jedi order for the love of a woman. Back then, he could not make that decision and he knew in his heart that he could not turn his back on the order, not now, not when he was needed as much as he was now. Naes knew in his heart deep down that his continued presence in the Jedi order was helping hold at bay the Dark Times. It was then and there that Naes made his decision, he could not leave the order, but he so wanted to marry Astra as well. He would just have to figure out a way to make it work. He did know that Astra was willing to work with him. His next project was to find an engagement ring.

**The Next Day-**

Naes and Ezriel had just got done sparring; Ezriel was progressing along as well as could be expected. Fortunately he was not losing much getting shuffled from one to another and back again. Just then Master Windu walked in, he saw Naes and walked toward him, "Knight Nemelc would you care to spar with me for a few minutes, I want to see if my pointers on Vaaped has benefited you any; along with all the recent missions where you have been able to implement those pointers in real life has helped?"

"Not a problem Master Windu, hopefully you will be surprised and not too disappointed." With that, Naes drew his saber and held in a classical _Djem_ stance.

Mace drew his saber and said, "Let's party." Mace lunged at Naes and began the rapid fire strikes of Vaaped, Mace was covering every angle of attack, as soon as the duel began, Naes adjusted and went to a third circle defensive _Soresu_ stance. It was obvious that up until now that Mace had been holding himself back against Naes in their training sessions. This must have been graduation then. Suddenly the tip of Mace's saber came straight in, _Soresu_ really did not have many defenses for that, it was one of the higher moves of _Vaaped_, Naes had seen it on occasion and performed it under strict tutelage of Mace a time or two. Naes deflected the saber tip just a couple of centimeters, barely singing his tunic. That was way too close, time to buy some breathing room, Naes then back flipped out Mace's reach and regained his footing and started composing himself.

Mace said, "Not too bad Naes, you are showing real improvement. But you are just delaying the inevitable. Surely you know that you cannot defeat me."

Naes looked at him and smiled and said, "Master Windu, who said anything about defeating you, an accomplished and master swordsman as yourself, just the privilege to duel you in this setting with nothing held back is enough for me."

Just then Mace began rushing Naes, and Naes returned the favor, rushing headlong at Mace Windu, when their sabers clashed everyone in the room could feel the power. The clash was so great the combatants giving their all, it created a strong enough disturbance in the Force that Master Yoda came down to investigate. The clash between the two and the power unleashed was so great that even across city planet Darth Sidious could feel the power unleashed. From the power signatures he knew precisely who was dueling, but to his chagrin there was no sign of the Dark Side, so he knew that this duel was not to the death, but if Windu was going at Nemelc with that kind of power, then Naes was coming into his own as a Jedi, what a powerful apprentice he would make. As powerful as he was, he could possibly beat Count Dooku right at this moment.

Mace, Yoda, and Naes could feel the superconducting loop of _Vaaped_ forming, Naes and Mace both feeding off of and releasing power into the current. Never before had to _Vaaped_ practioners fought one another with this level of skill and precision. But there was a difference, Naes began throwing some _Djem So_ moves in, as well as the occasional _Soresu _defensive blocks. About that time Kenobi and Skywalker along with Rhea Sirgon came in, all three stopped dead in their tracks as they took in the sight of Naes and Mace dueling each other. Anakin took one look and was amazed at how well Naes was handling himself against Mace Windu, especially for one so young. Naes was only about 27 years old, a full decade older than Anakin. Anakin knew then that he absolutely had to defeat Naes by any means necessary. By this time Naes and Mace both had fully submerged themselves in the Force.

They went at it with each other in a give and take ballet of lightsaber combat; finally after nearly ten minutes of this Master Yoda decided that it was time to call it off. With that, he tapped his cane against the marble floor, the percussion echoing around the room and Yoda speaking, "Enough of this exhibition, a draw I call it. Master Nemelc, none before have ever fought Master Windu to a stand still. A master you truly are with the Force."

Mace looked at Naes, and said "Most excellent, your skills with a lightsaber are truly astounding. You have learned well the elements of _Vaaped_ that I have taught you and better yet, you have learned how to control _Vaaped_ and not let it control you."

Just then Anakin pushed his way to where the Masters and Naes were standing. Naes and Mace both had their hands on their knees trying to catch their breath. Anakin stood looking at Naes, and said "I would like an opportunity to duel you now. That is unless you are too tired to handle me."

Kenobi then spoke up and said "Anakin that is very rude of you, interrupting the Masters and challenging Naes to a duel immediately after he just got done sparring with Master Windu. Both are uncalled for and you will be disciplined for your impertinence."

Naes could see the look of arrogance in Anakin's eyes and knew the best thing for Anakin was to be taught a lesson about requesting something you were not ready for. He stood up straight and took a deep cleansing breath in the force and said, "Master Kenobi, I would be honored to spar with Anakin, provided I have your permission to take him to school as it were."

"You have my permission to teach him as many lessons as you want in humility Master Nemelc." Kenobi said.

Naes knew that this duel he could not afford to draw out like the last time he had practiced with Anakin a few years earlier. Anakin had dramatically improved since, but after sparring with Ezriel and Mace, Naes was nearing his limits. He would have to rely on the Force to a great degree. He stepped back, lit his lightsaber and saluted Anakin.

Anakin stepped back and the crowd cleared out from between them. He lit his lightsaber and rushed straight at Naes, Naes rushed Anakin as well. And again the Temple fairly shook with the power being generated and unleashed. And across the city planet, Darth Sidious felt the power as well, and again he could tell who was dueling, but he was also grinning because he could feel the arrogance and pride and a hint of darkness being generated by Anakin.

Naes submerged himself in the Force, but Anakin was fast, and a couple of his blows at the beginning almost connected. Naes barely blocked the first couple of blows. He knew that Anakin would expect either the defense of _Soresu _or the rapid fire attacks _Vaaped_. So Naes immediately launched into a fusillade of _Djem So_ moves, Anakin was completely unprepared for that. He was thinking that Naes would default to his standard defensive posture at the beginning of a duel. This time Naes went on the offensive and dominated the duel and Anakin from the very beginning. In terms of physical strength normally Naes and Anakin would have been about equal. In the case of this duel Naes dominated; his superior swordsmanship and experience showing through. Anakin was literally being backed around the room. Constantly on the defensive, he never even had a chance on switching to the offensive. His arms tired from the pummeling that they were receiving in trying to block and defend against Naes's blows, Anakin finally collapsed to his knees. He was out of breath and winded.

Across the city planet, Sidious was amazed at how quickly and decisively Naes dealt with Anakin and not once did he resort to anger or anything else even relating to the Dark Side. Sidious could tell that Anakin's ego was going to need to be stroked and told that none of it was his fault. Anakin had such potential, the good thing about this defeat; he would redouble his sword work.

When Anakin fell to his knees, Naes backed off and turned off his lightsaber. The duel was done, he walked over the bleachers that were sitting in the side of the room and sat down. Ezriel and Rhea both walked over to him, congratulating him on his victories. Naes accepted their well wishes and relaxed, catching his breath. He was exhausted.

Ten minutes later Master Yoda came up to him, he was still on the bleachers. "Congratulations on your victories today."

"Thank you Master, I just did my very best."

"And that is why you are given the tough assignments; you always try your very best. Taught that lesson to Rhea and Ezriel you have. As you may know, pirate activity is on the increase. Assigning you, Rhea, and Ezriel to escort a convoy the Council is. You will be given two fighters for convoy protection as well. The idea is to draw the pirates out, where you can deal with them."

"Master, what if by chance the pirates have a large or heavily armed mothership? Our fighters and the freighters would be useless against something like that."

"Trailing behind you just out of sensor range will be a Republic Cruiser; that you can call upon in an emergency."

"Yes Master, as the Council wishes, let's just hope that cruiser does not have to do battle with a Droid Control Ship. I will find Rhea and Ezriel and let them know our assignment, Ezriel will be eager to finally go with me on a mission."

With that Master Yoda bowed and said, "Go and may the Force be with you."

Naes left, wondering how he would explain this to Astra and thinking that there was no rest for the weary.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Seven**

Naes could not believe the fur ball that he was in. He was three weeks into his first joint mission with Rhea and Ezriel. Pirates had been preying on convoys along this particular stretch, the Jedi Council has assigned them to fly with a convoy, and when the pirates attacked, hold them in system long enough for the fleet that was trailing them to jump in and clean up. Master Yoda had said that the fleet was supposed to be trailing ten minutes behind, just far enough that the pirates could not see them coming and close enough to get there in time to arrest the pirates and hopefully break the pirate ring in this part of the galaxy.

The pirates jumped the convoy nearly twenty minutes ago and Naes had been out here in a Jedi Starfighter holding the pirates off for fifteen minutes. The cruiser that he had been on was doing its part, but it was severely limited due to its small size. This was the same class of cruiser that had been blown apart on the hanger deck of a Trade Federation battle carrier, during the Naboo Crises seven years ago with Master Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi. The one with him today had been specially modified to dock one Jedi Starfighter to its underbelly. When Naes started there were one hundred enemy fighters out there, at that point Naes would have been glad to see a Dreadnought class ship, as under powered compared to its size and lumbering as it was. He alone had reduced the number of pirates by about thirty. The cruiser had done its part, and thankfully some of the freighters had arms enough to defend against enemy fighters. That still left forty enemy fighters, the shields on most of the freighters were beginning to weaken, and would not hold out much longer.

After this when he got back to the Temple, he was going to get with the designers of this fighter and check into making some improvements, for instance larger more powerful engines first of all. Perhaps an extra pair of cannon as well for improved fire power; it would be a good idea to consult with young Anakin Skywalker about some ideas he might have in terms of improving the fighters design. He loved tinkering with things, even more than Naes did. The majority of the Jedi looked down on Anakin's tinkering, feeling that he could not let go of his past. Naes on the other hand knew and understood that the tinkering brought peace to Anakin. His improving some bit of machinery brought him joy. Naes at times thought that despite all their platitudes, the Jedi really did not value individuality, at least not amongst their members.

Naes again wondered where the back up fleet was, he was a good pilot, probably one of the best Jedi pilots there was, but eventually sheer numbers were going to tell. Besides, you had to be insane to be facing one hundred to one odds and think you had a chance of succeeding. Naes was doing his best to keep the pirates off of the weaker freighters, at some point they were going to get smart and concentrate on him and worry about the freighters at their leisure. Just then all the enemy fighters pulled away from the freighters and regrouped together. According to his screen, there were thirty fighters left, Naes took the time to catch his breath as well as to gather and center himself in the Force.

And just like that the fighters were making a bee line straight for Naes, well since they were going to concentrate on him, maybe he should oblige and head for their fleet at the edge of his sensor range. Naes set his engines for maximum power and blew right through the mass of fighters, dodging and weaving to avoid getting hit by any stray laser bolts. Taking out any targets of opportunity while passing through the mass; there went another five. Except instead of turning around like the enemy expected, Naes kept his speed at maximum pointed at the carrier ships for the pirates. The Jedi Starfighter could outrun most anything else comparable to it in size; thus Naes was little by little pulling away from the pirates. Of course the hard part was he had to rely on the Force to tell him when to dodge since even though he was outrunning the fighters he could not outrun their fire.

The enemy carriers came into range and as Naes expected, each ship was a mish mash jumbled together mess; each barely being held together except by luck and lots of hard work. Naes lined up on the first one and strafed it, and turned to strafe the next two. After all turn about was fair play, the pirates had been strafing the freighters just five minutes ago. Just as he finished strafing the carriers, Naes turned his attention back to the fighters that were nearly on top of him. Of course now they had to be careful lest they hit one of their own. Besides none of the carriers could take much more punishment they were in such a degree of disrepair. Naes then began concentrating on dealing with the fighters. A few minutes later, appearing out of no where were five corvettes. Naes figured that must be the fleet that was supposed to have been shadowing the convoy. He banked hard away and let the corvettes clean up the rest.

Just then a voice came over comm panel, "This is Commander Firmus Piet of the Axillan Antipirate fleet. I apologize for the delay; it took a few extra minutes to fully prepare for the Hyperspace Jump. I wanted to verify the coordinates of the pirate carriers."

"No problem Commander, this is Jedi Master Naes Nemelc in the snubfighter. Glad you could join the party, hope we left enough for you and your men."

"I think you for being so considerate, and my salutations to you Jedi Master, you have certainly made my job easier. The entire sector thanks you as well; this should go a long way towards securing this sector and making it a lot safer. You and the convoy are free to go on, my men and I will take care of things here."

"Will do commander; hope to cross paths with you again someday in the future."

Naes then docked his Starfighter to the Republic cruiser. When he got out Rhea and Ezriel were waiting on him. Rhea rushed to him and embraced him and then kissed him full on the lips, exclaiming, "You did it, you saved the convoy nearly single handed, I was reviewing the data tracks on your fighter, and you alone destroyed fifty fighters. The cruiser and freighters only accounted for twenty. I don't even think that Master Plo Koon could pilot a craft that well. The Council should have you teaching Starfighter tactics and maneuvers. You have to be one of the best pilots around, after this I would not be surprised if the Chancellor did not name you Tan."

"Whoa Rhea, slow down; the council will name whomever they wish to teach Starfighter tactics. I am sure that Master Plo Koon could still teach me a few things, and to date only three people in the history of the Republic have been given the title of Tan by any Chancellor, and Chancellor Palpatine has not named anyone Tan yet. I doubt that I will be given the title of Tan, especially at this young of an age."

"Ahh, what does the Chancellor know? His term limit is almost up; soon we will be getting a new chancellor." Rhea exclaimed.

"Careful Rhea, as Jedi our first loyalty is to the Republic and the Chancellor is the leader of the Republic." As Naes said that, he shifted his stance, forcing Rhea to shift hers as well, to where their backs were turned to any possible camera stations, then using Jedi Hand Signals he signaled surveillance and continued a seemingly normal and innocent conversation for any auditory sensors that might be listening in, while conveying as quickly as possible to Rhea his distrust of the Chancellor and of Yoda asking him to keep an eye on the Chancellor. Also how there was fear amongst some in the Council that the Chancellor may not step down when his term was up; due to the many crises arising in the galaxy, especially the Separatist Movement led by former Jedi Count Dooku, all with the Hand Signals. To her credit, Rhea followed along without missing a beat and any surprise she might have felt, she did not allow to show on her face.

Later that evening, Rhea stopped by Naes's quarters, Ezriel was in the quarters next door so he would not be disturbed. When his door chimed, he opened it and saw that it was Rhea standing in the doorway. "Rhea, what are you doing here?"

"Naes, I came to talk to you. I have something that I have to tell you."

"Sure, no problem, what seems to be troubling you and how can I help."

"I think that I am in love with you. I know that this seems all of a sudden, but ever since that dinner after my knighting, I have been fighting feelings that have been developing for you. I know that as Jedi we are forbidden to marry or to even love. But all the missions that we have been on together, the time we have spent with each other, guarding and protecting the others back. I have seen you in action, seen you at your very best. I have seen you at your most exhausted. I have seen your zeal for the light and to bring order to the chaos that surrounds us. How you would do almost anything for the light to triumph and how as the darkness sweeps across and envelops the galaxy you are leading the fight against it. I have seen your loyalty, honor, honesty, and integrity. When you are given an assignment, it is as good as completed. You are growing in your wisdom and compassion, where most people see shades of grey as they get older; you still tend to see black and white. How you would do anything you could to help a friend. How the very concept of friendship means so much to you, the only thing you ask of your friends is that they stay in the light as well. I really think that if one of your friends were in so much trouble that you alone could not help them, you would raise and army and crash through the very gates of the Sith Lords on Korriban. You would travel to Ziost and back to save a friend. Naes, I have watched you and studied you for years now."

"Rhea, I am flattered that you care for me in that way, truth be told after your Knighting Dinner, I thought that I was developing feelings for you as well. On paper you and I are a perfect match in theory, after the dinner though, I decided that I could not allow myself to develop feelings for you like that, we are both Jedi Knights, we are supposed to be above such things. Those are the things that I told myself. I care about you a great deal, but unfortunately I have a girlfriend already. My relationship with her crept up on me, I met her on my first solo mission on Naboo, and the day after your dinner we ran into each other again. Because I was the one responsible for spilling her cup of caf, I bought her a new one and we talked and really enjoyed it so we kept seeing each other because we enjoyed each other's company and got along so well. Next thing I knew, we were dating and unbelievably I am ready to propose to her. I never pursued anything with you because like me you were a Jedi, I did not want to be the cause of you having to leave the Jedi Order. And Rhea, you know that if we were to get together eventually we both would have to leave the Order. And deep down, I know that you don't want to leave the Order, I would prefer not to leave the Order. With Astra, I don't know how long I can keep my relationship with her a secret, I do know that once the Masters find out about her, I will be expelled, until then I will serve the Order to the best of my abilities. There is one other think Rhea; I am not as committed to the Light as you might think. A little over a year ago, I had a vision of the future, in this future the Republic had been replaced by an Empire and the Emperor was a Sith Lord, one of the most powerful I have seen or heard of. In this vision, I was the leader of the Order of the Light Sith, in the ensuing duel between the Sith Lord and myself, I defeated him. In order to defeat him though, I had to use Dark Side techniques and powers. There is a part of me that has to fight the urge to take the more expedient and dark route to victory for the sake of light. I have an inner darkness within me that I have to fight with every single day. I will tell you that the lure of the Dark Side is very seductive."

Rhea was visibly saddened by his revelation about Astra, Naes felt for her and wished he could make it better. She looked up at him and said, "Thanks for being honest with me, you are correct, us together would have to leave the Order, which neither of us want. At least with Astra, so long as you keep her secret you can remain with the Order. You can count on my discretion. Let me ask you, in your vision, was I in it?"

"You were not in the vision that I had, there was a team with me, you were not among that team, but in the vision I was head of an Order of Light Sith that from what I could tell probably numbered close to fifty people, you may have been a part of the Order. Now let me tell you one more secret, Master Yoda knows the basics of it, you remember Obi Wan's friend Dex, he and I are the core of a secret group preparing for the day that everything goes south, just in case it does. The reason being is that I personally feel that the Chancellor is being controlled by a Sith Lord. Our goal is to get as many people off of Coruscant as possible but obviously that won't be very many, a few such as Dex plan on staying behind to pass on any information that might be learned to any opposition groups. I have trusted you with this, though I have not trusted Astra with it, there is no real need for her to know anything about it, and you though as a Jedi can be of assistance in it later down the line."

Rhea looked at him with a mixture of surprise and shock on her face, "Are you serious? You believe that the Chancellor is under the control of a Sith Lord, if that is the case, that means that in essence the Sith have taken over the Republic and are in control of the Jedi Order as well."

"Now you see the need for being careful and for being prepared. We need to have faith in each other and know that we can trust each other. There might come a time when there will be precious few that we can trust, even in the Order itself."

"Naes, you above all else I have faith and trust in, even more so since you have included me into what you know and have admitted to me that you have a fight against elements of the darkness. "

**One Week Later**

Naes stood outside Astra's apartment door, about to embark upon a path the few Jedi in the past thousand years had embarked upon, he was about to propose marriage to Astra. He rang the chime and she answered the door.

"I came over as soon as I could get away, I have missed you so much while I was gone, I had convoy duty; that is what took so long."

"Were you the Jedi that the Holonews was talking about that in the course of one battle single handedly destroyed fifty pirate fighters?"

"What, that was on the news; it was supposed to be kept quite. But yes, I was the one to take out the fighters."

"Naes; that is why I am always so worried about you when you leave, I know that every mission they send you on is on average particularly dangerous and that you are always assigned Rhea Sirgon as your partner."

"Astra, I will be honest with you, most of my missions are dangerous; even by Jedi standards they are dangerous. Unfortunately the galaxy is becoming an even more dangerous place, and with the talk of secession being voiced by Count Dooku, things are likely to get worse. As for Rhea, Astra you are the one that I love, you are the one that I want to come back to. They team me and Rhea because even though she is no longer my Padawan, we make an excellent nearly unbeatable team. To me Rhea is nothing but a trusted partner Jedi. And the good news Astra is that since I have met you, I have a reason to come back other than just my desire to live, I have you to come back to." With that, Naes slipped off the couch and got down on one knee in front of Astra and pulled a small jewelry box out of a hidden pocket. Opening the box to expose a ring, he asked "Astra Marn will you do me the honor marrying me and making me the happiest man in the galaxy. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to come back to you and to give you the love and devotion that you deserve."

With a tear springing in her eye, Astra cupped his hand in hers and held it close to her heart and then reached over and hugged him tight, whispering in his ear, "Yes, yes now and yes forever."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Eight**

It had been a month since Naes proposed to Astra, and a hectic month it had been, Astra had just finished her Healer studies, and was trying to open up her own practice on Coruscant. Naes was able to help her with the computer and database setups. Naes was also busy trying to create an alternate identity for himself, so that when he and Astra married, there would be no record of a Naes Nemelc, Jedi, getting married. This was such an important alternative identity that Naes was taking his time crafting it, and by the time he was done, it would stand up under the most intense investigations. Of course, at the same time, Astra was busy trying to find a new apartment, one that just happened to be closer to the Jedi Temple. All of this was going on when Master Yoda asked to meet with Naes one morning.

"Master Nemelc, assigned you are to greet the new Senator from Naboo. Know her you do, Padme Amidala elected by the people of Naboo she was to serve them once more this time in the Republic Senate. Arrive when she does, greet her you will and escort her to the Senate Dome."

"As you wish Master Yoda, may I ask why I have been given this assignment?"

"Know you and know Master Kenobi she does, Master Kenobi gone he is on a mission. Familiar face you are. Arrive she does this afternoon, Nubian transport on pad 15 in the Senate District. First arrival she wishes to make inconspicuous. Assist her any way that is reasonable."

"I understand Master Yoda; I will pick her up in an unmarked car and escort her to the Rotunda. And will offer all reasonable assistances. I will go now and make arrangements for the car." With that Naes left Yoda and headed to the Temple Hanger, where he could reserve a car from the fleet the Temple kept on hand for various needs. Once he was well away from Yoda, his mind began to go into turmoil; Padme was the only thing that had ever caused Naes to consider leaving the Jedi Order. He did not know if he loved her or not, but one thing for sure his feelings were in a turmoil. That is partly because he had not seen Padme in four years, partly because how much his life had changed in those four years. He was supposed to get married in a few months, to another strong willed Nabooan woman. One thing for sure, even with Astra, he knew the potential was there to be expelled from the Order and if he was, he would face the consequences for his decision, but he did not want to leave the Order.

Looking back, Naes could not believe how much things had changed, he was training what was technically his second Padawan; engaged to Astra, whom he had been back in touch with and dating for three years. Could it have only been four years since that first mission to Naboo when he first ran into Astra and saved her and then spent those intoxicating three days with Padme?

That afternoon, Naes was waiting at Pad 15 with a closed top car, even though he knew that Padme would probably prefer an open top; for security considerations he opted for the closed top. Just then a Nubian transport came in and settled on the pad. Once the ramp lowered, a petite figure began to stride down the ramp; the dress and headpiece both were somewhat elaborate. Not so elaborate that she would have too much difficulty getting in and out of any planetary transports. It was definitely the Senator; he would know that turquoise aura anywhere. It was a cooling and soothing aura to him. Immediately all the feelings and emotions that she had stirred in him four years ago came rushing back. Naes could tell that if he spent too much time with her, that he might have trouble. He had to remind himself that Astra was the one that he loved, that she was the one he was going to marry.

Just then Padme walked up to him and said, "Naes, so good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Master Yoda asked me to escort you to the Senate Rotunda, he felt that a familiar face among the Jedi would be soothing and pleasant."

"I hope that he does not think that I need a babysitter, I could have arranged transport for myself to the Rotunda anyway."

At that point, Naes knew that he did not need two strong willed Nabooan women in his life, one was more than enough. The second would probably just serve to drive him insane. He answered, "I can assure you that Master Yoda does not think that at all. The Jedi are pledged to serve the Republic. We answer to the Senate and Chancellor; plus the Jedi has always had good relations with Naboo and with you and the Chancellor. Thus Master Yoda wished to make sure that you were comfortable and asked that I provide all reasonable assistance to you here upon your arrival."

"Oh, well if that is the case, please lead the way my handsome Jedi escort" Padme said with a smile and twinkle in her eyes.

Naes showed her to the car, helped her get in and closed the door. As he got in behind the control yoke, he mentioned in passing, "I opted for the closed top vehicle for the sake of security, but I will take you on a swing through the Senate District, so that you can familiarize yourself with some of the more important landmarks. If you will notice off to the left you can just barely see the top of the spires of the Jedi Temple, of course as you know that is where all Jedi reside when they are on Coruscant, the central spire contains the Master's Council Chamber, where the Jedi Council sits. One of the few areas of the Temple that is open to the general public is the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Generally considered to be one of the best places to sit and lose oneself in thought and to meditate upon the Force. The room not only contains the thousand fountains, but it also has fauna from all over the galaxy, some of which is unique to the Temple; being extinct or nearly extinct anywhere else in the galaxy. Up ahead is the Senate Apartment Complex, which is where you will be staying, nearly all of the Senators stay at the Apartment Complex."

Swinging the car around with the Jedi Temple behind them now, Naes pointed up ahead and said, "If you look forward now, you can just make out the domes of the Senate Building and the adjacent Rotunda that acts as a hanger for many Senators transports and for any business they may wish to conduct there. It also serves as a warehouse and delivery point for many large items to be sent later to the Senate Dome. And to your right is the Galactic Center Mall, one hundred stories of shops and dining and a couple of theme parks thrown in as well. The majority of the shops are high end, serving Senators and their dependants. I have already checked and made sure that your luggage will be delivered the apartment rented by the Naboo Embassy for Senators of the Chommel Sector. So do you wish to go to your apartment first or present your credentials to the Chancellor first?"

"I have never been one to waste my time, let's go to the Senate so that I can present my credentials to the Chancellor. In a way I am looking forward to seeing the Chancellor, I have not seen him since the liberation of Naboo eight years ago. I remember that he did the best he could to help but his hands were tied by procedure. I hope that he has been able to rein in the bureaucrats."

"Padme, for the first few years after Palpatine was elected the bureaucrats got even worse, however over the past year with the Separatist crisis starting to brew, the Senate has been voting more power to the Chancellor and he has been creating a whole new bureaucracy answerable only to him. So there is a whole new bureaucratic mess that is entirely free of Senate oversight."

"Then it sounds like I have gotten here just in time, how about the corruption that was so rampant?"

"Same thing, the Senate has voted power away from itself and to the Chancellor, a few Senators who have been favored with oversight of some departments are even more corrupt than before, the only good thing is the officials that answer to the Senate leaders and the Chancellor are not as outwardly corrupt, the bad thing, they are sneakier in their corruption than ever before. The end result being that according to official figures the corruption level has gone down, but in reality is has gone up. Padme, you are going to find your work cut out for you, but I can direct you to some Senators that are not corrupt and truly believe in democracy, I have good relations with most of them,"

"Who are these people, so that I may seek them out and know who to support?"

"Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia, Mon Mothma of Chandrila and Bail Organna of Alderaan these are the most notable and vocal. I have had more dealings with Senators Iblis and Organna, you know how Corellian's are and I am one of the few Jedi that knows how to deal with them and Bail is almost as much of an idealist as you are, but he is also one of the Jedi's biggest supporters. As for Mon Mothma, she has a moral compass, which is rare for a politician, but she is a politician and there are some that say she covets Palpatine's job as Chancellor."

"Thank you Naes, I will keep the information you have given me as confidential. It is so nice seeing you, how have you been since the last I saw you was when you were leaving the Lake Country early. I hope that it is not anything that I did, to cause you to leave early."

"Padme, I assure you, it is not anything that you did to cause me to leave early. You made me feel so welcome and at home on Naboo that I was in fact tempted to leave the Order and settle down on Naboo. I felt that it would be best if I left and returned to Coruscant, to avoid further temptations, especially those of a more physical nature."

Padme slightly blushed, "Yes, I can quite understand that particular temptation, if you had stayed much longer, I would have been tempted to ask you to leave the Order and stay on Naboo myself. What about now?"

"Padme, now I am more committed to the Jedi Order than before, the galaxy has gotten even more dangerous. The galaxy needs a strong and robust Jedi Order more than ever, and considering the problems in the Senate it needs as many good and moral Senators that will stand up for what is right despite any consequences." Naes hoped Padme did not see through him totally, as a Jedi he was not well experienced in telling falsehoods. But he did not want Padme to know about Astra; that was a complication in his life that she did not need to know about. Better she think that he was truly committed to the Jedi Order, which he was to a degree. Besides, as one philosopher said about the past, "You can never go back."

With that, he and Padme arrived at the Senate Dome. They got out and headed to the Chancellor's office, where Padme could present her credentials. As they got to the door to the Chancellor's outer office, Naes had to lean against the wall for a minute. He felt that oily slick darkness that he associated with the Chancellor brush up against him, almost as if it was checking to see who he was. Then, just as quickly it was gone. It took everything Naes had not draw his lightsaber and rush into the Chancellor's office. He was fairly well convinced that he would find a Sith in the office with Palpatine. But a Jedi never rushed headlong into the Chancellor's office with their weapon drawn. He would have to tell Master Yoda about his experience.

Padme looked at him with genuine concern in her eyes, "What was the matter Naes? What happened to you? You were fine and talking to me a moment ago, next thing you are leaned against the wall looking like you just saw a ghost or something."

"There is a Sith Lord somewhere nearby; I felt his presence brush up against mine, almost as if he were inspecting to see who I was. And just as quickly the presence disappeared. The Dark Side is beginning to cloud the Force. The galaxy is going to be in for a very rough few years. Until the Sith are caught and dealt with." With that, he and Padme entered the Chancellor's outer office. Naes looked at the assistant and said, "Senator Amidala of the Chommel Sector is here to present her credentials to the Chancellor."

The assistant looked up at Naes and Padme and said, "The Chancellor will be with you in just a few minutes Senator Amidala." Then she pressed a button on her desk, "Senator Amidala recently elected from the Chommel Sector is here to see you sir."

"Send her in; I have been looking forward to seeing her." With that Padme walked into his office, leaving Naes to wait outside.

As Padme went in, Palpatine stood up and stepped out from behind his desk, grasping Padme's hands, "It is so good to see you doing so well my dear. When I heard that you had been elected to represent our people in the Senate, I could not have been happier, though of course I must tell you as Chancellor that I cannot appear to give you any special treatment because we are from the same system."

"I understand that perfectly Your Highness, I would never expect to be treated any differently. I am happy to serve our people in whatever capacity that I can."

"I know my dear, just one of those things that had to be said. So please go ahead and show me your credentials."

With that, Padme showed Palpatine the letter from Queen Jamilla confirming the election results appointing Padme Amidala as the new Senator to the Republic. It also would make her the youngest Senator then elected; being Eighteen years and five months in age.

As Padme left the Chancellors office, Naes was there waiting for her, "Would you like to see your office now my lady?"

"Yes, that would be great"

Naes took her down to the level that the Chommel Sector Senators office was, and showed her in, the office was spacious and well appointed. "This Senator is the sitting room and outer office, and to the right through those doors is your private office. Most Senators use the outer office to conduct day to day business, entertain and consult with other Senators. The private office is where they go to conduct private business or to just get away from the daily grind that goes with being a Senator and have some private or personal time."

Padme looked at the office with an introspective look, "Hmm, yes this will do fine, much larger than my office as Queen, and excellent meeting room for the Sector Representative and advisors."

"Is there anything else that I can show you here at the Senate Offices?" Naes asked.

"No, if you don't mind, please escort me to my apartments." Padme asked.

Naes then took Padme to the Senate Apartment Complex; the apartment currently kept by the Naboo Embassy for the Chommel Sector Senate was about midway up the tower. Padme stepped inside followed by Naes. He stepped into the main area and took a quick glance around the room and saw that the rest of her luggage had already been delivered. Naes felt in the Force wanting to make sure that nothing amiss and that there were no surprises or unexpected "guests". Everything was clear, no disturbances in the Force. Just then, Padme keyed the door shut and locked it. She then proceeded to walk towards him in a purposeful manner, just as she got to him, she threw her arms around him and drew his head down towards her and proceeded to kiss him.

Naes didn't know what was happening, his initial reaction being to let go and he began to kiss her in return. Then Naes realized what he was doing and pulled back from her. "What was that about? Why did you do that?"

Padme looked at him and said "I wanted to see if you felt the same about me that I do about you. And from your initial reaction, I would say that without a doubt you do."

"Padme, my feelings for you are not important, we both have a duty and commitment to the Republic, if we were to have a relationship with each other, it would by necessity be secret, we would tire of such secrecy and eventually the relationship would destroy us both. The Council would no longer let me serve as a Jedi and it is doubtful the Queen would allow you to continue serving as a Senator, the scandal alone would destroy your career."

Padme looked up at him, her eyes shadowed with sadness; she reached up and kissed him once more. She drew back and said with sadness in her voice, "Yes you are right, the Republic needs us in our respective roles."

Naes drew her into a hug and kissed her lightly on the cheek and said, "Padme, a part of me will always care for you and you will always have a portion of my heart." With that, Naes left the Senator's apartment, greatly saddened.

Once he was away from the apartment, he took a few calming breaths, drew upon the Force for strength. To an outside observer, no could tell that the Jedi was anything other than cool, calm and collected and at peace with himself. He decided that he should pay Astra a visit before returning to the Temple.

Naes approached Astra's door and buzzed the chime. Astra opened the door and he stepped through, scooped her up in his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. When they came up for air, she asked "What was that about?"

"That is how much I love you and don't want to be away from you. Just a very busy day, I was assigned by Master Yoda to escort Senator Amidala."

"You mean the former Queen of Naboo? I didn't know you knew her."

"I actually met her a few hours after I met you that day in the market on Naboo four years ago; spending the day with one strong Nabooan woman, made me thankful for you being in my life. I want you to know that you are the only woman for me." With that Naes left Astra and at peace with himself and returned to the Jedi Temple.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Nine**

That night, Naes had a difficult time going to sleep. His mind was racing from the day spent with Padme, and the prospect of building a life with her. Part of him was flattered and intrigued at the prospect of a relationship with Padme. She was a very strong willed individual, even after four years apart; it was like they had never parted. What was that ritual greeting one telepathic species had, "Parted yet never parted." That was it. Naes could certainly agree with that sentiment. He certainly knew there was a bond between him and Astra, and apparently to a lesser degree a bond with Padme. When sleep finally enveloped him, it was a fitful and restless sleep. The Force was full of warnings and portents.

Finally in the middle of the night, Naes conscious barriers fell and a series of dreams ensued. In the first, Naes was living an ideal life with Padme on Naboo, lots of time in the Lake Country, the two were very happy together. Then in a flash, Naes could see the Chancellor's office, in it, Mace, Obi-Wan, and Anakin were engaged in the fight of their lives against a hooded dark figure. Naes could tell that the figure was the same one that he had fought in his dream a couple years ago. From his dream he could tell that at the same time that he and Padme were happy, the Galaxy itself was plunged into a war. Naes could see grand fleets engaging one another throughout the galaxy. The stench of the darkside covered the entire galaxy.

And just then, the entire dreamscape broke open, a chasm in the earth appeared filled with lava and a new dream took over. In this dream, Padme is in the Senate pleading for diplomacy, Naes has some sort of chest armor on, and he is standing on the bridge of a Starship, engaged in battle against a foe with greater strength. Then he sees Mace Windu fly out of the broken window of the Chancellors office, that same hooded dark figure from his vision of a few years ago laughing and then a young man, whose face he cannot see kneels and says to the Sith Lord, "I pledge myself to your teachings my master." Upon hearing those words, Naes was aghast, no sane person could ever decide to willingly join the Dark Side, and to pledge themselves to the teachings of a Sith Lord. And Naes knew from his previous dream a couple years ago, that this was a particularly brutal, devious, and twisted Sith Lord.

Then Naes found himself on a volcanic planet, the entire planet was literally overrun with lava. Naes could see two figures in the distance, he could hear what was being said, but could not determine who the voices belonged to. Naes could determine that the young man who had pledged himself to the darkness, lying on the ground, and apparently he had just one arm left, and that was an artificial limb already. His voice was filled with anger and hatred yelling out "I hate you." The other figure holding a lightsaber handle, in each hand called down, "I loved you, you were like a brother to me. You were not supposed to leave the galaxy in darkness." Then the young man let out the most horrendous of screams and his entire body caught fire from the overwhelming heat of the lava. Naes had to turn away from the scene, and a voice said to him, "And so is the birth of Darth Vader". At that point, Naes realized that man whoever he was, would become Darth Vader. What kind of life could he have after these events; trapped inside a life support suit for the rest of your life; forced to rely on machines to breathe for you and to provide nourishment for your body. Your entire life has been taken from you because of the horrendous decisions that you had made.

A part of Naes sympathized with the man, but it served as a warning to Naes as well. He remembered from his previous dream that Vader was a Jedi and had known Naes. This birth of Vader, on the banks of a fiery river, because he had proven that he could not be loyal to the Jedi order. Not only did he prove disloyal to the Jedi, he betrayed them and had struck against them as well. That is what the Force was telling Naes in his dream. Naes took an oath then and there to never dabble in the darkness, he would rather live a life in anonymity than dabble in the darkness and supplant Sidious and Vader. Naes feared what would happen to him if he ever turned. With that Naes awoke from his dreaming, bathed in sweat.

He knew that the galaxy was headed for some very trying and extremely dark times. Apparently no matter what he did, the galaxy would be bathed in darkness. His choices were, would he and by extension according to his dreams Padme run from their responsibility and let the galaxy face the darkness alone. Or would he and Padme continue their duties and help the galaxy through the darkness. Two things for sure, the galaxy was headed for war, no way around that and there was a Sith Lord near to the Chancellor.

The next morning, Naes told Yoda about the two things for sure according to his dreams. "Fear this I have, that the Separatists force a war upon the Republic will. Work the Jedi must still to avoid war. Soldiers we are not, but duty bound we would be to support the Republic. Proof you must find of the Sith Lord."

"Master; that will be difficult, this Sith Lord has been hiding on Coruscant for no telling how long, he is very adept at avoiding Jedi attention and detection. But I will continue my search; I take it that you still want this done low key?"

"Yes, the Sith Lord must not know that we are onto him, continue he must think that we do not know where he is."

"As you wish Master" with that Naes departed from Yoda, his next stop was to find Rhea and fill her in, he trusted her and considered her to be his right arm as it were.

When Naes found Rhea, he related to her the two inescapable conclusions from his dreams. And Yoda's reiterating his secret assignment to find the Sith Lord near the Chancellor. He went on, "Rhea, we have to continue our work for when things go south, one of my dreams I saw Master Windu fly out of the Chancellors window. From my dream, I can tell you that this Sith Lord is extremely powerful, so powerful that Master Windu is defeated; he is so powerful that I even doubt Master Yoda capable of defeating him. According to my dream, me in my prime was a virtual match, and only defeated him by trying to walk the line between light and dark. Though, now I would say there is no grey area, there is only black and white. That dream I had a couple years ago will never come to pass, I refuse to go to Ziost, and I refuse to ever even dabble in the darkness. I just hope that I am strong enough to help stop the destruction of the Jedi Order. I don't want to do anything that would risk me becoming anything like either Vader or Sidious."

Rhea looked at Naes, nodding in agreement at his declaration, "Naes that right there is why I consider you one of the purest of the Jedi, yes you make mistakes and you do not strictly follow the current epitome of the Jedi Order."

"Thank you Rhea, but I must be going; I have things that I need to take care of."

Naes headed to Dexter's to take care of some work and to craft his alternate persona. That afternoon Naes was applying the finishing touches to one Naes Barris, a freelance data analyst and operator. The type of individual that was forgettable he tended to sort of blend into the background imagery almost as if he were invisible. One side benefit was that any money that he made by legal means could be deposited into the Barris account. Naes went ahead and sliced into the credit bureau of the Republic and gave Barris decent credit, and requested new cards from his creditors for the ones he "lost". Naes looked at his chrono and decided that he should head back to the Temple, Ezriel would be completing his classes with the other younglings soon, and Naes wanted to be there when he was done, run Ezriel through a couple of diplomatic exercises and a light sparring match afterwards. After dinner in the dining hall, he and Ezriel would go to the Room of One Thousand Fountains and meditate for a bit.

**A month later…**

Even the worry about the potential of the galaxy falling into darkness had to give way to more mundane concerns. The day for Naes and Astra's wedding had finally arrived; Naes having no family except the Jedi Order only had Dexter and Rhea on his side and looked rather dashing in his recently bought formal suit. Astra looking radiant in her white dress just a small group of friends with her. They were joined together by a precinct judge, who performed the actual ceremony. Astra knew already that Naes had to be careful how much time he spent with her in the evenings, lest the Jedi Order find out about their marriage.

**Three Months later…**

Naes was at his and Astra's apartment, about midway between the Medical District and the Jedi Temple, fortunately the two locations were not very far apart; only a couple hundred kilometers. It was a quiet afternoon, Ezriel was still in class and Naes had gotten into a routine of juggling his life with Astra and his Jedi commitments.

Just then, Astra came in, "Oh good you're home."

Despite the breezy way she said it, Naes could feel in the Force that something was wrong. "What's the matter my dear, you do not feel right."

Astra blushed a bit, and then said "I should know better than to try to keep a secret from a Jedi. Especially one that I am married to; I have some news that will change our lives forever. Naes I am pregnant."

"What, how did that happen!"

Astra looked at him with a look that said "Are you for real?" "I think you know how it happened, my question is what are we going to do about it. I know for a fact that here on Coruscant a midichlorian test is mandatory with every new birth. What if our children have a high midichlorian count, if your count is as high as you have told me even if it only inherits half your count, that is still a number high enough to be taken and raised in the Temple, plus the odds of the Council finding out that you are the father would be assured, the first genetic marker test they run on our child will send red flags up especially if they by chance run a comparison with current Jedi."

Naes looked at her and said, "That is not all, any Jedi that knows me well, the second they came near our child would immediately notice the similarities in the way we feel in the Force, Jedi that are closely related have a similar feel and look in the Force. Nowadays, that is not an often occurrence, which would make me and our child stick out that much more so. In an order where such similarities no longer exist, such a similarity is hard not to notice. I will have to think of something; fortunately we have a few months."

**About eight months later…**

After Astra had the baby, a beautiful healthy baby boy; Naes was with her wearing street clothes and appearing very non-Jedi, when the nurse came in to do the mandatory blood tests. As she came in, Naes greeted her, they talked a few minutes and then he waved his hand and said, "You have already taken the baby's blood, you will continue on your rounds doing the excellent work that you always do." The nurse had a blank look on her face for a moment and then said her good-byes and headed to the next patient. Naes then pulled his portable computer out and sliced into the hospital's database, found a suitable human child born several months previous and copied the data over into the entry for Naes Jr. He then walked over to his son and placed his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

Astra looked at him strangely, "What are you doing?"

"I put an inhibition in place on him so that he cannot inadvertently use the Force unless I am around. We don't want him showing signs of Force sensitivity in the middle of daycare or preschool." Naes then took a small scanner out and took a drop of blood from the baby and scanned it. "Good thing I did, his count is as high as mine. What I will do is train him in secret at home."

"Are you sure that is a wise thing to do? Eventually the Jedi will find out about him and put two and two together?" Astra asked.

"Astra, what I am about to tell you is not to be told to anyone else, I have a strong feeling that the Republic will not last more than a few more years. One day I am going to come to you and tell you to pack the bare essentials, that we are leaving Coruscant. You will need to trust me completely and implicitly. Whenever that happens, the Jedi Order will cease to exist. At least with me training him in secret, he will have the basics and be able to take care of himself. I am still hoping that it can be saved, but it is looking doubtful that there is anything I can do to save it. If the Order and Republic are saved, then I will turn him over to the Jedi and face my punishment. I am hoping that with the inhibition in place that the Order won't discover him, at least not on a planet teeming with Force Sensitive's like Coruscant is, we have yet to locate the Sith Lord in hiding. I have to go now and return to the Temple, Rhea will stop by later this evening to look in on you and the baby. And I will take the two of you home tomorrow. Good night and love you Astra."

"Bye Naes, see you tomorrow."

**A few days later…**

Naes walked into the sparring room, when he spotted Master Windu about midway through a warming exercise. "Master Windu, would you mind sparring, I feel the need to really stretch myself today."

Mace looked at him and said, "Certainly Naes, it can be rather hard to find true challengers at times."

The two faced each other, and the duel began. It had been a couple years since Naes had dueled Mace Windu, the last time being when Mace was teaching him the finer points of Vaaped. The two started off slowly, gauging their opponent's strengths and weaknesses. As time went on, the two began to pick up the pace. Their lightsabers a veritable blur of motion as each one went back and forth, first one then the other going on the offence. The violet hues Mace Windu's clashing with the emerald glow of Naes's blade. As the dual progressed, the others in the room left off from their practicing to watch the duel. So far, Naes had been sticking primarily with Soresu and Djem So; his favored styles. He had not allowed himself to sink into the superconducting loop state of mind that went along with the use of Vaaped, and for Naes he could use any style in that state of mind. He submerged himself in the Force.

For the two combatants, time seemed to slow. After nearly ten minutes, and having drawn a sizable crowd, including Master Yoda, Naes began to throw in some Vaaped, his strikes at Naes seeming to come from every direction at a speed that Mace Windu could barely defend against. After nearly fifteen minutes of dueling, Master Yoda finally tapped his stick against the hard floor. Sweat was pouring from both combatants, and until that time, neither was inclined to give up. "Enough, proven both of you have to be master swordsmen; this duel is declared a draw."

Both looked at Yoda and bowed, both saying; "Yes Master Yoda." Both eyed the other out of the corner of their eye, then both approached with Naes saying, "Thanks for the practice Master Windu, I really appreciate it."

Mace shook his hand and said, "Excellent sparring Naes, it has truly been a long time since anyone has been able to take me to my limits. Even I would call this duel a draw. I am astounded at how well you have progressed and how well you have put my lessons into practice. You truly are a master swordsman."

A few minutes later, Yoda and Mace were in Yoda's quarters, discussing Mace's recent duel with Naes. "Even in the most grueling and aggressive portions of the duel, when one would expect to get angry, Naes stayed calm and centered in the Force, he never once resorted to or fell victim to his aggressive feelings. You know as well as I that one either masters Vaaped or it will master you, Naes has mastered it. Aside from you and I he is the greatest swordsman in the Order, though Kenobi could give him a run in terms of mastery of Soresu. On his missions, it is evident that he would prefer negotiations and a peaceful settlement, but when those breakdown, he has no problem drawing his lightsaber. I don't think he is quite ready for Mastery just yet. He still needs a few more years and a little bit more wisdom. I get the feeling that something is troubling him."

"Perceptive you are Master Windu, visions he has had over the years. One vision he was leader of an order of his own, the Order of the Light Sith, in it he fought a Sith Master and his apprentice and defeated them. In this vision, the Jedi Order destroyed had been, traveled he did to Ziost to learn the secrets of the Sith and create a melding of the two. Later he had a vision of the galaxy at war, and the Jedi Order betrayed by one of its own, and you being defeated by this Sith Lord. Know he does not who betrays the Jedi Order. After the second vision, seeing the consequences of betrayal of the Jedi Order, sworn he has to never dabble in the darkness or to travel to Ziost ever. Feel we both do that the Chancellor is under the control of the Sith Lord we have been searching for. Take not to the Council we have so that official it does not become. But soon ready for Mastery he will be, I foresee great potential for him on the Council."

"So then we are agreed, he is not quite ready for Mastery, but he soon will be. Even I would be troubled by the visions that you have described; though I am now more certain than ever that he will not ever succumb to the lure of the darkside." With that Mace Windu left Yoda's quarters and proceeded about his business.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Ten**

The night after his sparring match with Mace Windu Naes had a dream. In this dream, he was much older; he could see Mace Windu and Obi Wan Kenobi sitting in the Council Chambers, Mace looking absolutely ancient; and sitting next to Obi Wan was Ezriel. There was no Master Yoda though; Naes took that to mean that by this point in the future Yoda had become one with the Force. The surprising thing, to Naes side was Anakin; he was not only on the Council but was the one presiding over the Council. As this vision progressed, Naes could tell that just as Mace and Yoda were for most intents co Grand Masters, the same could be said for Anakin and Naes. Both also took the time to listen to Obi Wan and Mace.

Then to Naes amazement, there in the center of the Council Chamber stood what could only be described as a shorter and younger version of Anakin. He had the same dark blonde hair and piercing blue eyes as Anakin did. His aura was not the fierce blazing yellow of Anakin, but rather a tempered emerald, Naes could see tinges of Anakin's yellow and tinges of someone else's turquoise. Naes could only assume that this was Anakin's son, the resemblance between the two was staggering. There was one major difference, this son while it was apparent he could be a bit headstrong like his father, there was a peace and serenity about him as well and he appeared to have the same Force potential as Anakin.

To the side of Anakin's son, was Naes Jr. Naes could tell this was his son, he truly looked like a blend between Naes and Astra. He was approximately the same height as Naes and he was a couple inches taller than Anakin's son. From the vision, the two were being sent on a mission together. After the Council session, Naes and Anakin were talking about their son's, how proud both were of them. How, the two teams of Skywalker and Nemelc were unmatched and harkened back to the days of Kenobi and Skywalker or Nemelc and Sirgon. Even though the galaxy was much quieter now since the end of the war and the death of last Sith Lord, there was an occasional flare up.

When he woke, he was amazed and did not know what to make of the dream, he and Anakin sitting on the Council as Grand Masters; not just that, chatting like two old friends would. Ezriel on the Council; the Sith Lord defeated; a Jedi Order that accepted marriage and children. Naes knew that the Force was telling him that this future was possible. Of all his visions of the future, this was by far the best. In this vision, the galaxy was bathed in light; there was no unnatural stench of the Dark Side in the galaxy that Naes could tell. The problem is that Naes had no clue on how to bring about this particular vision. Any other time he would go and tell Yoda about his visions, this time he could not, there was no way he could let the Jedi find out about Naes Jr. If he did, he would be expelled and his son would be taken and raised in the crèche, Naes himself was beginning to have doubts about the Order's tactic of taking children from their parents.

As for the thought of Naes and Anakin being friends, he had never given it much thought. Because of his natural abilities with the Force, Anakin was a bit headstrong and haughty. That was not to say that he didn't have a good heart, for those Anakin cared for, he would do anything in the world for them. Just as Naes would do for his friends and family; of course Jedi were not supposed to have family. One thing that concerned Naes about Anakin was his unswerving and total devotion to the Chancellor. Anakin's devotion to Palpatine was as strong as or stronger than his devotion to the Jedi Order. For Anakin, it was a difficult concept to give loyalty to ideals and principles over that of people. Naes could sympathize, if he were told that for the greater good he would have to sacrifice Astra, he was not sure he could. He wasn't even sure he could sacrifice Master Yoda for the greater good.

Of course, Naes had seen Anakin do things with the Force that only he or Master Yoda could do. The Force came so natural to him; he just needed discipline and seasoning. Anakin, equated mastery of the Force with overall skill, not understanding one needed mastery over oneself to achieve true Mastery. That though came with age, what did he expect from someone that was only eighteen and only been in the Order for nine years. That was something else that fed Anakin's arrogance, coming into the Order so late in life and then catching up with and eclipsing those that were his own age. He would be ready for the Trials in a few years and achieve the rank of a full Jedi Knight; possibly even as early as Naes did. Few Jedi could pass the Trials at twenty. Even Obi Wan could not; his Trials came at twenty-five which was the average age for most Jedi; and to take a Padawan immediately after passing his Trials was unusual, but Naes understood making the promise to Qui Gon. It was the exceptional, like Mace Windu and Master Yoda to pass the trials at a young age; Mace had passed the Trials and then went on to become the youngest Jedi ever appointed to the Council at twenty eight.

Naes then started thinking of Ezriel; his training was coming along well, his saber skills were on par with those his age. His diplomatic skills were really thriving; he was a peacemaker by heart. And for the age of fifteen, Ezriel was really rather centered in the Force, Naes could see him being on the Council one day, should there be a Council at that time. Just then he was sent a summons to appear before the Jedi Council.

"Master Nemelc, go you will to Bothawui, border dispute they have with their neighbors. Accompanied you will be by your Padawan Ezriel and by Rhea Sirgon. Know we do that difficult this assignment can be, aggression Bothans are known for."

"Master Yoda, no disrespect is meant, but are you sure that we are the best choice for this mission. While Rhea and I are passable diplomats and negotiators, we are by no means the best diplomatic team amongst the Jedi. In a case such as this perhaps it would be best to send the best diplomatic team we have?"

Yoda replied, "True you are that others better diplomats there is, however strength Bothans respect. It requires diplomacy and skill with a lightsaber this assignment does. That is why being sent you are."

Naes replied, "Yes, I see your point and the wisdom of your decision." With that he bowed to the Council and left to get Rhea and Ezriel.

**One Year Later…**

Naes had just returned to Coruscant and delivered his report to the Jedi Council and stopped to see Astra and Naes Jr, for the past year it seemed that no sooner than he would return from one mission that the Council was sending him right back out. Each mission being taxing or draining or grueling. Naes was just absolutely drained. Naes Jr was growing so fast, he seemed to get bigger every time Naes saw him.

Astra rushed to him and embraced him, "I am so glad that you are home safe and sound. When are these constant assignments going to stop, I hardly ever see you?"

"I don't know; it seems like the galaxy has decided to just fall apart completely. The Dark Side is really beginning to cloud everything. I have been away so much that I have not been able to search for the Sith Lord at all."

"You should also know, a few days ago there was an explosion on one of the landing pads. Senator Amidala was returning from Naboo for the Senate vote on the Military Creation Act."

"Is Padme alright? What happened?"

"She is alright but a day later there was another attempt on her life at her Senatorial apartment. Obi Wan and Anakin thwarted that one."

"You're telling me that she was given Jedi protection? The Chancellor and Council felt it was that serious, rarely do Jedi offer protection like that unless it is extremely serious. I need to go and see Master Yoda, ask him about this."

As Naes left for the Jedi Temple, his feelings were in turmoil, hearing about the attempted assassination on Padme brought to mind his vision of two years ago of he and her happily married while the galaxy crumbled. By the time he arrived at the Temple, he had once more regained his composure and had centered himself in the Force. He got to Yoda's quarters and chimed; and hearing Yoda say "Come in you may Master Nemelc, what is it that concerns you?"

"Master, I just heard about the attempt on Senator Amidala and the fact that she was given Jedi protection."

"Yes, correct you are. Left she did this morning along with Obi Wan's Padawan, young Skywalker, traveling in disguise as refugee's they are. Left Obi Wan did this evening, to Kamino he goes looking for a bounty hunter. Connection there is between this bounty hunter and the attempt on the Senator's life."

"Master, I have never heard of Kamino, where is it?"

"Erased from the Jedi Archives was Kamino, out beyond the Reche Maze in the Outer Rim it is."

"Only a Jedi can erase files from the archives, and for a Jedi that would nearly unthinkable, we are brought up to prize knowledge. Master if there is anything that I can do to assist, please let me know."

"Stay on Coruscant for now you must, rest you will, gather your strength you must. As you know, clouding everything the Dark Side is. Soon I foresee a time of testing for the Jedi Order. Also, correct you are about the archives, Master Windu is quietly investigating this serious matter and breach of security. What else has been erased that we do not know about?"

"I understand Master, and stand ready to assist. Whatever the Council asks of me I will do."

"Go now Master Nemelc, rest you must. Discuss this later we will."

**Three Days later…**

Yoda had Naes meet him in the Jedi Hanger, "On Kamino Master Kenobi did find the bounty hunter, as well as a clone army."

"A clone army, who ordered it, who is it for?"

"Master Kenobi was told the army was ordered and paid for by Master Sifo Dyes ten years ago. Without Council approval this was done. Cloud everything the Dark Side does if the creation of this army the Council could not see. Also, this bounty hunter follow him from Kamino Master Kenobi did to Geonosis. Captured he was while delivering his report. Soon Master Windu will address all Jedi at the Temple, a rescue mission he is leading for Master Kenobi. At the same time lead a strike team you will to take out the droid control center on Geonosis. Behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala the Separatists are. Created they have a massive droid army. Representative Binks of the Naboo delegation propose he did granting the Chancellor emergency powers, pass it did with overwhelming support. War it has come down to. Going I am to inspect this clone army."

"I understand Master Yoda." With that, Naes hurried to the Great Hall of the Jedi Temple, to hear Mace Windu address the gathering Jedi. He found Rhea and Ezriel there towards the front of the crowd and to one side. He walked up and stood next to them.

"The Senate has just voted emergency powers to the Chancellor in response to the Separatist Crisis. Master Kenobi has been captured while delivering his report on Geonosis. I am taking what Jedi we have available to rescue Master Kenobi. In his report, Master Kenobi informed us that a massive droid army has been constructed on the planet with the apparent intention of blackmailing the Republic to give in to all of the Separatist demands. Thus there is a very real possibility that we could find ourselves overwhelmed by sheer numbers of droids. Our goal first and foremost is to rescue Obi Wan Kenobi and to get out safely; as part of that Master Nemelc will lead a strike team to identify and take out the droid control center"; Mace nodding toward Naes.

Naes looked around at the Jedi gathered, "Rhea you and Ezriel for sure are going with me on the strike team." He then began choosing a handful of others to accompany him. He had them gathered around, him and looked over to Master Windu and said, "My strike team is assembled and ready."

Mace looked at him with grim determination and said, "Good, may the Force be with us."

**Hours later on Geonosis…**

Naes was in the fight of his life, he was beginning to think that taking Ezriel with him on this mission might have been a mistake. Never in his life had he faced this many droids. His lightsaber was a blur of motion, batting back laser bolts at the droids in front. He and Rhea were at the front of the team, leaving the handful of others to deal with any droids that came along behind or to the side. He had almost made it to the control center, when he could hear on his comlink that the rescue team had engaged. Dooku was prepared for the rescue attempt it would appear. Upon hearing that, Naes exhorted the strike team to redouble its efforts, their fellow Jedi were depending on them to destroy the control center. The team made its final turn, fifty meters away; at the end of the hall was the objective. Unfortunately their problems had just begun, the final distance was jam packed with droids. Half of them were a new type of droid, stockier built with more armor and able to shoot lasers from their hands. Naes would later learn that this was the B2 type of droid.

Either way, the team waded into the fray. And this is where the team began to take casualties. They finally made it to the doorway, Naes cut his way in and found another ten super battle droids waiting for them. He and Rhea waded in and dealt with them. Once the room was cleared, the team placed the charges and ran down the hall back to the final turn and set the charges off by remote control. The explosion rocked the structure, and that is when the team discovered that they had been outwitted. "Rhea, scan for any control signals."

"Scanning, no control signals can be located; there must not be a backup control center."

"Good," Naes pulled his comlink, "Mace, we have destroyed the droid control center."

"The droids are still active Naes; they have not even slowed down."

"Ezriel, bring me a couple of heads of both droid types."

Naes took a quick look at the droids control circuits, and immediately noted some major changes. These droids were more independent, Naes could tell by looking that it appeared that they could continue with their assignments even after the destruction of the control center.

"Mace, these new droids are more independent, they can continue with their previous assignments even after the destruction of the control center where they are receiving the command signals. My mission is a total bust."

"Naes, get to a transmitter and send a distress signal to Master Yoda, things are not looking so good here. Do your best not to be captured."

Naes looked at the remaining four members of his team and they sprinted for the nearest exit, so that they could get to where they had landed their starfighters and contact Master Yoda, letting him know what was happening. Naes doubted there was much that Yoda could do.

Naes got to his starfighter, "Rhea, you and the rest get your fighters ready; we are going to attempt to provide air support for Master Windu. R4-B6 open up a channel to Master Yoda. Master, my team has destroyed the control center, however it was a ruse the new generation of droids do not need a central control area. They have a greater degree of autonomy, it was a trap by Dooku, and Master Windu's team is facing extreme resistance and need immediate extraction."

Yoda's hologram appeared just then, "Arrive shortly I will with reinforcements. Stay where you are and await reinforcements."

Naes looked up at the sky and saw several dagger shapes slowly descending towards the surface of the planet. A type and design that he had never seen before; his guess being these were the reinforcements Yoda was speaking of. Things certainly were getting interesting.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Eleven**

Naes looked over at what remained of his strike team; they were looking at him expectantly wondering what Master Yoda had to say. Naes motioned for them to cut their engines. As they were getting out of their cockpits, he called to them "Master Yoda said to hold off that reinforcements were on the way." He then pointed up to the sky, where the dagger shapes were growing larger by the minute, "I think those might be the reinforcements." As he was speaking, the descending ships began to disgorge drop ships and gunships. One ship appeared to be coming in for a landing not too far from where his strike team was. "Let's go and meet that ship."

Naes was anxious to get back in action, as he made his way to the landing area; he noticed several gunships head towards the arena. He could sense Master Yoda in the lead gunship. Once he reached the landing area, a man in generic helmet approached him and said, "Sir, the Redoubt is awaiting your command," motioning back towards the assault cruiser that had landed a short distance away. As they were speaking hundreds of troops were disembarking, he gestured towards the two Knights that were still with him and Rhea; you two take charge of the troops and attempt to seize the factory. Rhea, take command of the ship on the other side, Ezriel you and I will take this ship here.

Naes and Ezriel sprinted up the ramp and into the ship. Once he reached the bridge, another non-descript trooper saluted and said, "Welcome to the Redoubt sir, what are your orders?" As soon as all ground forces are off loaded, lift off and position us in orbit below the Trade Federation ships. I want to catch the Core's that are on the ground before they can join up with rest of the ship. As they were lifting off, he could see out the viewport a core ship launching as well. "Fire on that launching ship; the Cores are most vulnerable on the ground in when they are lifting off."

"Ezriel, monitor the comm channels, I want to be able to lend assistance wherever feasible, but our primary job is to take out as many Core's as possible."

A few minutes later, Ezriel came up to him, "Master, we are getting a request to provide fire support for the ground forces."

Naes looked over to the navigator and gunner, "Maneuver us into position to provide fire support", he then looked over at sensors, "Keep a look out for any Core ships in our vicinity, I don't want to be caught by surprise." Just as the battle looked to be winding down, Naes caught a warning in the Force, sensing a strong dark presence on a small sail ship that was rapidly accelerating out of the system, "Turn us about, track that sail ship, and as soon as you can lock on and fire on it."

"Sir, we can't, it is moving too fast and is nearly in position to enter hyperspace." With that, the sail ship disappeared from view.

"OK, reposition, let's take out what few ships we can."

An hour later, Naes gave the order to land and take on returning troops and tasked the Med Center to prepare for mass casualties. "Once we have taken everybody on board, lift off and set course for Coruscant, best possible speed." Naes missed Astra, he had been in battle before, but never had he been in a war. He was thankful that he would be returning to her and his son safely. Naes then learned that Padme had been on the planet as well. Apparently she had pushed Anakin into going to the planet in a failed attempt to rescue Master Kenobi. All three of them had been fighting for their lives in the arena before Mace had intervened. By all accounts, she had acquitted herself rather well in battle; just as she had ten years ago during the Battle of Naboo Though she suffered from several deep cuts across her back from being clawed by a Nexu.

According to those very same reports, Master Kenobi and Anakin had attempted to engage Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel, both having failed. Kenobi suffered a few burns; Anakin lost half his right arm in the duel. After that Master Yoda had engaged Dooku and was forced to break off to save Anakin and Obi Wan; that also answered Naes question of who was in the sail ship he had attempted to intercept. According to Master Yoda, Dooku had joined the Sith; that he was now steeped in the Dark Side. Naes did know one thing for sure; Dooku was not the Sith Lord he was tasked to find. That tracked with what they knew, a master and an apprentice. Naes guess was that Dooku was the apprentice; he had left the Jedi Order ten years ago, shortly after his former Padawan Qui Gon Jinn perished on Naboo. Since then, Dooku had been rallying support to the Separatist cause, rarely being on Coruscant, he was not on Coruscant when Naes had felt the Sith Lord in Palpatine's offices when Padme had first arrived from Naboo. Naes was thankful for the Clone Army, without them it would have been a rout, as it was some 170 Jedi had died that day.

**Later on Coruscant…**

Naes was heading towards the Healer Ward in the Jedi Temple, he wanted to check on Padme, see how she was doing. Upon arriving at Coruscant, she had been taken to the Jedi Temple to receive treatment for her injuries. Just then Padme burst from the healing room she had been in, followed by a concerned looking healer. "I don't care, let me see Anakin first. My injuries can wait; I want to make sure Anakin is alright first."

Just then Master Yoda seemed to appear out of nowhere, blocking the way to the surgery suite that Anakin was in. "Go in you will not, disturb the healers you will not. Stay out of Jedi business you will."

Obi Wan then walked out of his healing room, "Padme, let the healers do their jobs. Anakin will be alright. Trust me on this."

Naes came up behind her, "Padme, he is young and strong in the Force. Anakin will be alright, some of the best healers in the Temple are working on him as we speak. Let them do their jobs. Let the healer finish with you and I will take you home." He guided her back into the room she had been and came back out. "He heard Obi Wan and Yoda speaking,

"Allowed she cannot to interfere with Jedi business, apparent it is attached she has become too young Skywalker. Allow this we cannot. Master Nemelc, take her home you must."

"Master Yoda, she is not the only one, Anakin is extremely attached to her as well, he probably has been since he first met her ten years ago."

"Favor the Jedi she does, Master Kenobi speak with her you must about staying away from young Skywalker, for their own good this is. Perhaps as Skywalker's Master and former acquaintance listen to you she will. Master Nemelc take her home he shall."

Padme walked out of her room a few minutes later, appearing calmer. "Come my lady, I shall take you home" Naes said. On his way out, he looked to Master Yoda and nodded.

Once they arrived at Padme's apartment, he stepped in as well. "Padme, please do us all a favor and leave Anakin alone, he is young and inexperienced. Because he was so old when he came to the Temple, he has a problem with attachment and letting go."

Padme rounded on him slapping him on the cheek and saying, "Attachment, letting go. You are a fine one to speak about those things. What about Astra? How do you explain your marriage to her? Is that an example of a Jedi not forming any attachments?"

Naes hand instinctively rubbed his cheek where he had been slapped, "How do you know about Astra, no one does except my former Padawan and mission partner Rhea."

"Right after I came to Coruscant, I looked up to see if any healers from Naboo practiced hear on Coruscant, and saw that Astra had just opened her practice, so I decided to make her my healer here on Coruscant. One visit to her a few months after arriving, I saw your wedding picture sitting on the shelf. Even in semi formal clothing, I would recognize you Naes. I asked about the picture and she told me it was a wedding picture and that her husband's name was Naes Barris and that he worked with computers. How many people do you think have your first name and look like you? I didn't say anything to her, but I could tell from the way she talked about you that she really loved you."

"You are right Padme, I have no right saying anything it would be hypocritical on my part, and if the Jedi ever found out about Astra, I would be expelled from the Order. Anakin does not have the level of maturity or self control that I have. He fears loss to a great degree; he has a problem with the concept of loyalty to ideals rather than loyalty to people. As a Jedi, he has to be loyal to greater things than himself; such as the Jedi Order and the Republic. He is very headstrong, if you think that you and I being together would have destroyed us, it would be more so with Anakin and you. He feels more than he thinks."

Padme stood there for a moment, chewing on her lower lip, thinking about what Naes had said to her, "You are correct, I ask that you let me end things with him myself, I promise to be gentle and let him down easy."

"Thank you Padme, a word of warning, Yoda has asked Obi Wan Kenobi to talk to you about the same thing, being of the opinion that you would listen to him more since he is Anakin's master. I don't want you to think you are being ambushed by the Jedi Order. Yoda and Master Kenobi both highly respect you and your support of the Jedi, but you can understand them not wanting you to meddle in Jedi business, and Anakin as possibly being the Chosen One to bring balance to the Force and destroying the Sith, is most definitely Jedi business. May the Force be with you." With that, Naes left her apartment and headed home to spend a few minutes with Astra before going back to the Temple.

The next afternoon, Naes was standing in a darkened corner while Obi Wan was talking with Yoda and Mace Windu, "Without the clones it would not have been a victory."

"Victory you say, no not victory. The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen, begun the Clone War has." was Yoda's reply.

Just then Naes spoke up, "Master Yoda, I know that Dooku has turned to the Dark Side, and thus he cannot be trusted. But remember what we do know, we know that a powerful Sith Lord is close to the Chancellor. I have felt him myself. We know his name is Sidious from my vision, Dooku said that was the name of the Sith Lord to Obi Wan. Considering how strong the Dark Side is that the Council could not even see the creation of a million clones, as you have said, our ability to use the Force is compromised. Look at the number of powerful Jedi that have cropped up the past 100yrs, first you 900yrs ago, this century, Master Windu, myself, Anakin, the Force is trying to balance things out. I think that we should keep a close eye on the Senate. We might actually have to be prepared to take control of the Senate."

Yoda said, "To a dangerous place you are going Master Nemelc, Jedi have not controlled the Senate since the last Sith War a thousand years ago."

"I know and understand Master Yoda, but if several Senator's are under the control of a Sith Lord, and possibly the Chancellor himself who should have left office two years ago and was just voted emergency powers by the Senate. It would be to our benefit to be prepared for every possible contingency."

Yoda replied, "Understand I do what you are saying, maybe eventually but not right now will such a radical step be considered, now our first priority is defending the Republic against the Separatist. Work side by side with the clones we will. Give you your assignments in the next few days the Council will. Dismissed you both are."

A few days later, Naes was standing before the Council to receive his first assignment of the Clone War.

"Master Nemelc, given the rank of General you are, your Padawan is given the provisional rank of Commander."

"Master Yoda, I want to thank you and the Council for the faith that they have in me and my Padawan, however I need to address something that seems to have been neglected in regards to the Clones. How do we justify what we are doing now? Breeding men without choice, and without freedom, to fight and die for us? When do the means cease to justify the end? Where is our society heading? Where are our ideals; and what are we without them? If we give in to expedience in this way, where do we draw the line between ourselves and those we find unacceptably evil? These clones were bred and created for a single purpose, and that is to fight a war for the Republic, what rights do they have, what choice have they been given? What will we do with the clones when this war is over? Will they be allowed to leave the Army and become civilians? This is nothing but a form of slavery, going against the very anti-slavery laws of the Republic. I have no answer, Masters. Do you? Thus until you can provide me with satisfactory answers, I refuse to take command of any ground force units where the clones have no choice. I will only command naval and air units, where there are at least some volunteers serving and the clones themselves volunteer for that. This is a matter of conscience for me. I think this war is wrong, I think it has been orchestrated to divert everybody's attention, for what I do not know. But I am a faithful and loyal Jedi, thus I will serve."

Then Mace Windu cut in, "That is enough Master Nemelc, you will not stand there and lecture the Council on its decisions or your opinions. Our decision is final. We will use the Clones to help defend the Republic against the obvious threat of the Separatist's and Sith. There will be no further discussion on the matter."

"Thank you Master Nemelc for that, the Council will respect your wishes and assign you to command a fleet. For now your fleet will guard the trade routes between Corellia, Alderaan, and Coruscant. Protect the Core we must." Yoda said, trying to smooth things over.

Naes inclined his head and said, "Yes Masters, thank you for your time." Naes then went to let Ezriel know their assignment. "Ezriel, I have gotten our assignment from the Council, we are assigned to command the fleet guarding the routes between Corellia, Alderaan and Coruscant."

"Master that is a babysitting assignment. You and I are good, why were we not given a front line assignment?"

"Ezriel, I suspect that it is because during the Council's meeting, I brought up a few uncomfortable truths, such as the clones are nothing more than slaves and I refused command of any ground units, that I would only command naval and air units where there is a semblance of volunteers. I know that you want to be on the front line, but remember that a Jedi does not crave excitement; he is focused on his assignment at hand, he is focused on the here and now. Guarding the Core is important; it is a job that has to be done."

Just then, Rhea came up "What happened Naes; the Council just informed me that I was assigned command of the Resolute, as part of your fleet, guarding the Core. I was expecting a front line assignment, especially considering how good a swordsman you are."

I raised a few uncomfortable questions for the Council about the status of the clones and refused to take command of any ground units. I will only command naval and air units, where as I told the Council and Ezriel you have some volunteers. What rank did the Council give you, I am Jedi General, and Ezriel is a provisional Commander."

"I am a High Commander; most Jedi Knights are given the rank of High Commander. Masters are given the rank of Jedi General, and Council Members have the rank of High General. Padawan's are nominally granted the rank of Commander; especially for those that are young. Remember that Ezriel is only fifteen years old. Though I hear that Anakin is being considered for the rank of High Commander, the Council wants him and Obi Wan on the front lines. That is part of the reason I thought that we would be put on the front lines together. My guess is that the Council does not want to break up a winning team."

"Well Rhea, I look forward to working with you. Whatever the Council's reason's for assigning you with me, we will all do our jobs to the best of our abilities. Don't worry; I have a feeling that we will see plenty of action. This is going to be a full scale war, something the Republic and galaxy as a whole have not seen in a thousand years. This will be a conflict to try and test the best of us. Now I need to go and check to find out when our fleet is scheduled to lift off and I want to meet with the senior officer's of the fleet, get to know them. Ezriel, you stay here and continue your lessons, Rhea and I will go to Fleet HQ." With that Naes and Rhea left to meet with the fleet command group.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Twelve**

Naes and Rhea were at Fleet HQ, meeting with the command group of the Republic's Seventh Fleet. "Gentlemen, I thank all of you for coming, this meeting is to review our latest assignment and allow you the opportunity to meet me and Commander Sirgon. I have been placed in overall charge of the fleet and Commander Sirgon has been given command of the Resolute, my flagship will be the Redoubt, I will keep Captain Drallic as captain of the Redoubt. Our assignment is to guard the routes from Coruscant, Alderaan and Corellia. The fleet will depart first thing tomorrow morning at 0700 and head directly to Corellia, in my opinion the Separatist will make that their first target, you have the five inhabited worlds plus Centerpoint Station plus the system shipyards all being in such close proximity to Cato Neimodia is too tempting a target. To avoid being detected, we will take the back way to Corellia; it is slightly longer but that route we will not be detected by the Separatist. We will also exit hyperspace at the outskirts of the system and proceed under power in normal space. We will then station ourselves in the mass shadow of Centerpoint Station and wait. Is that understood and are there any questions?"

Captain Drallic raised his hand, "Thank you sir for your trust in me, are you sure though that the Separatist fleet will attack Corellia? It has to be nearly as well defended as Coruscant. Would not Alderaan prove a more tempting target?"

"You have valid points Captain, this war like any other war will depend on the combatant's ability to field combat ships to move men, material, and act as weapon's platforms. Thus in the early stages of the war, if the Separatist can disrupt Republic shipbuilding by attacking shipyards, then they will. Corellia is the nearest shipyard to Separatist controlled space. The defenses for the system and the shipyards both are just now going to a wartime footing, thus making them relatively vulnerable for a short period of time. Alderaan is a more tempting target in that it has no weapons relatively speaking, but the system is staunchly for the Republic. It would tie up too many resources to occupy the planet, for no real return on investment. Corellia has always charted a more independent course in comparison. Besides, I have a feeling it will be Corellia."

**Two days later…**

Naes was on the bridge of the Redoubt, the fleet having arrived and taken up position the day before when an alarm went off. The fleet was running on minimal power, to avoid giving away their position to any prying sensors.

Captain Drallic came up and said, "Sir, sensors have detected an enemy fleet has just appeared a short distance from Corellia."

"What is the fleet makeup?"

"Six ships total, three Trade Federation ships and three Techno Union ships."

"Tell orbital defenses to concentrate on the Trade Federation ships, we will concentrate on the others. Captain pass along orders, we are going to initiate a micro jump in system and catch the enemy fleet between us and the orbital defenders. Pass along also to the other planets to launch the system corvettes and fighters and engage the Trade Federation ships around Corellia."

"Aye sir, initiating micro jump now."

Naes fleet suddenly showed up behind the Separatist fleet, "Choose your targets and engage the Techno Union ships, they are the greater threat. The Trade Federation ships are not as heavily armed. The majority of them are converted cargo carriers." The Techno Union ships were completely caught unaware, having the Republic assault cruisers showing up from nowhere and firing on their relatively unprotected rear quarter. With the addition of the orbital defenses, in system corvettes and fighters converging on the Trade Federation, it was soon apparent that the battle was not going their way. The Separatist fleet soon began taking heavy casualties; eventually one Techno Union ship fought its way past the trap and retreated to hyperspace, severely damaged. Naes knew that it would be several months before that ship was in any condition to fight again, in fact it would be fortunate to make it to a friendly base that was how badly damaged it was. The other ships were a spreading debris field, with the in system defenders searching for any escape pods.

The next day Naes gave the order to move his fleet to Kuat, just on the other side of Alderaan. He knew the KDY would be the next target. Before leaving, he requested the Eighth fleet join him, even though the fleet had just stood up. Once arriving, he had the Eighth Fleet hide in the solar glare of the system primary, with a dedicated comm channel to the shipyards. He also stationed a sensor cluster along the most likely route a Separatist fleet would take, to provide early warning. Naes knew that it was suicide to attempt a micro jump that close to a system primary. The Seventh Fleet he positioned inside some empty docking cradles, hopefully they would appear to be ships being readied to be repaired and refitted, especially with most ship systems shut down except life support. For appearances sake, he even directed that the exterior battle damage sustained from the previous engagement not be repaired. The interior and systems had been repaired including the few hull breaches, thus the exterior damage was more cosmetic than anything else.

A week after arriving, Naes was on the bridge of his ship, admiring the sleeker lines of the Venator class ships that the KDY engineers had just finished designing and had begun construction of the first of them. Nearly 300 meters longer than the Acclamator's but not quite as wide. A top loading hanger for deploying fighters was certainly a novel approach; plus the hanger nearly ran the length of the ship. Turbo laser emplacements along the upper periphery for long range fire and scattered emplacements along the sides for close in support. They could certainly go toe to toe with anything the CIS had currently or in the foreseeable future. Another innovative feature was the dual bridge design. To the best of his knowledge, no other ship boasted two bridges. One bridge was for starfighter command and the other was for ship command. In his spare time, he was conferring with Anakin via Hypercom about designing a new Jedi Starfighter.

Suddenly the alarm chimed and an officer announced, "Enemy fleet detected twelve ships total, elements of the Techno Union, Trade Federation, and Banking Clan ships. The Shipyards will be in weapons range in about ten minutes."

Naes took that in stride, "Tell the Eighth fleet to come in hot at full speed. Tell Seventh Fleet to activate engines and disengage from the docking cradles. Contact the dock master, telling him to finish work on whatever ships can be sent into battle, I don't care what standard readiness is. Activate shipyard defenses and contact Coruscant apprising them of the attack. All hands to your battle stations. I want Eighth Fleet to concentrate on the Banking Clan ships; they have tough armor but do not pack the firepower. I want the shipyards concentrating on the Trade Federation; their ships are primarily converted freighters. Seventh Fleet will concentrate on the Techno Union ships; they have the better mix of armor and firepower. Launch all fighters." This battle was going to prove to be interesting.

The ponderous bulk of Naes fleet of Acclamator's began to slip free of the docking slips and maneuver themselves into a position to deal with the incoming fleet. "Helm, close on the lead ship at flank speed on his port side and just as we are about to pass each other, immediately begin turning us to face him, momentum will cause us to pass so be prepared for a 135 degree turn. Weapon's I want continuous fire on the lead ship, be prepared for the course changes." Just as Naes expected, the ships defenses directed entirely towards the front so that as the ships began to pass and the Redoubt began its turn, it was caught relatively undefended and the sudden turn threw off the enemy gunners as well.

"Sir, we are detecting a reactor overload in the enemy ship."

"Move us away and engage the next target. When will Eighth Fleet begin engaging the enemy?"

"They have just arrived in the battle area and are maneuvering to engage the enemy."

"Sir, the dock master just informed us that they are releasing three ships at half crew to help defend the shipyards. And the Resolute has just defeated her opponent."

"Excellent, that certainly helps even up the odds. Tell Rhea to take on the other Techno Union ship, helm maneuver to engage the nearest Trade Federation ship. How is the Endurance fairing against her opponent?"

"Too close to call just yet, sir."

"Contact our fighters; tell them to assist the Endurance, which should help tip the odds in our favor there." Just then the ship rocked, Naes stumbled for a moment, and he then turned to the weapons officer, "direct all fire on that Federation ship, and target their core." A short time later, one of the arms of the enemy ship fell away, exposing the ships core body. Soon enough the core succumbed to the concentrated fire and exploded. "Status of the fleet and the battle?"

"Endurance and Resolute have just destroyed their opponents. The Banking Clan ships are being badly mauled by the Eighth Fleet. Two Trade Federation ships are left, they are sustaining heavy damage. All Techno Union ships are destroyed." The sensor officer reported.

"Tell the Endurance and Resolute to assist the Eighth Fleet, while we engage the nearest Trade Federation ship." The Redoubt began turning about, to face the next Trade Federation ship; just as they began firing on it, combined with the punishment it had taken from the KDY defenders blew apart, shortly followed by its sister ship. At the same moment, the Endurance and Resolute double teamed a Banking Clan ship dispatching it in short order.

"Sir, the Endurance and Resolute are falling back, they have both suffered severe damage."

"Understood, bring us up and began targeting the nearest Banking Clan ship." In quick succession, two more Banking Clan ships were defeated; leaving the third one to face the combined might alone.

"Sir the remaining Banking Clan ship is turning away, it has suffered severe damage, do you wish to pursue?"

"No, leave it, as severe as the damage the ship will be out of commission for several months. Besides, better they spread word of the defeat; that will sap enemy morale. Two major defeats within a couple weeks of each other, it will have a major effect on the enemy. Stand down and lets assess the damage."

"Shipyards report that they will be back up to full capacity tomorrow afternoon, Eighth Fleet suffered minor damage, Endurance and Resolute suffered severe damage and will need to be in dock for two weeks at least. Our damage is moderate, could stand to be in dock for about a week."

"Understood, release Eighth Fleet to their next assignment and make arrangements with the dock master for Seventh Fleet to undergo repairs and refit. Captain Drallic would you please see to the repairs? Thank you."

Naes took the time to travel to Coruscant and report to the Jedi Council.

"In the course of two weeks, my fleet has thwarted two Separatist attacks, the first one against the Corellian shipyards and the second against the KDY with the assistance of the Eighth Fleet, I have since released Eighth Fleet to their normally scheduled patrol. Seventh Fleet will be in dry-dock for at least two weeks. After that I would like to request permission to conduct a series of hit and run raids against CIS held assets."

Yoda replied, "Well you have done Master Nemelc, explain why you wish to conduct these raids?"

"Master, unfortunately we find ourselves in a war not of our choosing, and as in times past we Jedi are at the front lines to lead the Republic defense. It is my belief that following the two offensive defeats by the Separatist that a few hit and run raids will first keep the enemy off balance and second these defensive defeats will in fact weaken enemy morale, as well as strengthening Republic morale."

"Correct in your reasoning you are Master Nemelc, permission you have to conduct these raids. Careful you must be, follow the Force you must and successful you will be", Yoda said.

With that Naes left the Jedi Temple and headed to see Astra. "How are you doing? Please be careful, I hate that you have to be away. The war is not even a month old and you have already been in two battles."

"Don't worry Astra, I am careful, unfortunately I have to be away and like the rest of the Jedi, I am expected to help lead the fight. I have a couple days, so let's spend what time we can together and before I leave, I will set up a system so that you can comm me without raising any red flags and that I can do the same thing with you."

"How are you going to do that?"

"All it will require is changing a few routing protocols, here, at Fleet HQ, and on the Redoubt fpr me about five minutes at each location. Any messages you send, key in a specific code and that will tell this station to route to Fleet HQ, there it will piggyback on regular comm traffic to the Redoubt, where the workstation in my cabin on the Redoubt will pull your message and flag for my attention."

A week later, Naes was in a conference room with the captain's of the Seventh Fleet, as well as Rhea and Ezriel. "Last week I approached the Jedi Council and received permission about conducting hit and run raids against various Separatist targets. Before departure, I ask that you make sure that all ships are fully provisioned in terms of food stuff, fuel and spare parts. That should in theory give us three months of operating without much support. I plan on spending as much time as possible behind enemy lines, hitting their trade routes, ship yards and other various targets of opportunity. Our first target is the ship yards at Cato Neimodia, we will go in and hit them hard and leave. Our primary target will be the docking slips and any ships that are in them."

Captain Drallic raised his hand and Naes nodded to him, "Sir, how can we prevent from happening to us the same thing that happened to our opponents at Corellia and here at Kuat?"

"It might seem a tad suicidal, the way we will do that is we jump right in on top of the shipyards weapon's manned and armed, and we do not give the defenders a chance to get into position. We don't have to waste time to approach, we are right there, open up on the docking slips and the central core and we leave. If we are fortunate, they won't even have time raise their shields. If we run into heavy resistance, jump out and find a more opportune target somewhere else."

"Sir, for a fleet to coordinate that fine a jump is impossible. It would require split second timing on all three ships, at the same time."

"True, which is why we will slave the Resolute and Endurance to the navigational control's of the Redoubt. And I will be at the controls of the Redoubt for our exit from hyperspace. And yes, I have the reflexes to pull off that kind of jump. I know that it is a high risk maneuver, but well worth the risk of we can pull it off."

Rhea then spoke up, "I concur, risky but worth it, besides I have seen Naes pull off similar maneuvers."

Ezriel chimed in, "You should see what he can do in a starfighter. Very few people can match his skills in a fighter." With those two votes of confidence, the rest of the senior officer's agreed to the plan. The fleet jumped in and hit the dockyards around Cato Neimodia and after that they did the same thing to the shipyards at Fondor. The fleet spent the next two months hitting convoys and shipyards throughout the CIS. The fleet became known as "The Raiders" throughout the Republic and CIS because of their tactics. To the Republic they were great heroes, hitting the Separatist where it hurt, in the CIS they were reviled and every fleet commander wanted to test himself against Naes, "The Raiding Hero" as the Republic press had taken to calling him. During this time, Naes also found out from Astra that she was expecting again. That explained to him who the second Nemelc was in his vision nearly a year earlier. It also meant that he would have to make sure that he was on Coruscant in the time frame that his next child was due. Save it and its older brother from being taken by the Jedi and to keep Naes from being expelled from the Order. Sometimes, Naes wished for a nice quiet life, where he could live with his wife and kids not have to be constantly sent out on missions. But for right now, the Republic needed him.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Thirteen**

After nearly three months of hitting Separatist shipyards and commercial traffic and engaging in hit and run tactics, Naes felt it was time to return to Republic space. The crew needed some down time and the ships needed to spend some time in dock to bring them back up to full capacity. First the fleet stopped at Kuat to be reprovisioned and restocked, then after that they would stop at Naboo for a couple of weeks, show the flag, and patrol the sector. Naes had arranged for Astra and their son to take some time off and travel to Naboo for a vacation. She was due to arrive the next day on a transport from Coruscant to Naboo. As the fleet was entering the system, a chrome starship dropped out of hyperspace a short distance away. Naes knew that for Naboo the chrome starship represented the ruler of the planet, but he also knew that Padme owing to her popularity with the populace and gratitude for her years of public service was also allowed to fly a chrome starship.

Just then a fleet of Trade Federation starships jumped out of hyperspace and began firing on the chrome starship. Naes knew immediately that it had to be Nute Gunray up to his usual tricks again; he had never forgiven Padme for the role she played in his defeat during the Blockade and subsequent Battle of Naboo. In fact it had been his assassination attempts against her that had helped lead to the Battle of Geonosis about three months ago. "Shield's up, flank speed, bring weapons up to full power, we have to protect that skiff against the Trade Federation. Open a comm channel to both the lead Federation ship and the skiff. Federation ship disengage from your attack immediately, this is General Naes Nemelc of the Republic Cruiser Redoubt. The skiff is a Republic vessel and under our protection. If you do not break off immediately you will be fired upon. Republic skiff, please change course towards the Redoubt." Naes made a cut motion with his hand, and the channel was closed. "Is the skiff still being fired upon?"

"Yes sir."

"Weapons target and fire on the Federation ship; show them we mean business. Contact the rest of the fleet, tell them to prepare to fire on the other ships. Send a message to the skiff, telling them to prepare to dock with the Redoubt. Inform the hanger to prepare to receive the skiff." Just then the ship rocked, "That's it weapons destroy that Federation ship. Tell the rest of the fleet to take out the enemy fleet." A few minutes later the Trade Federation fleet was gone. "I am going to the hanger to greet our visitor."

A few minutes later, Naes was walking down the hall, towards the hanger when he saw Padme coming his way. "I was just on my way to say hello", he said; his hand automatically reaching for her when they met about halfway. Her hand reached for his as well and their fingers interlocked around each other as they walked hand in hand back toward the lift. Listening to each other, as each took turns talking; in the lift Naes looked deep into Padme's beautiful brown eyes. She was looking intently at him, as if whatever he had to say was the absolutely most important thing to her at that point in time. For a few brief moments, he got lost in her eyes. Finally he shook himself out of it, "Are you sure you are alright, I can have the ships healer take a look at you?"

"Thank you Naes, I am fine. Just a bit shook up."

"That is understandable; we were headed to Naboo anyway, so I will show you to your quarters and have my men begin repairing your ship. We should arrive in a couple of hours."

As they stepped out of the lift, he walked her to the door to her quarters, as the door opened, they slowly began to pull apart, as if they were both reluctant to let go of the other. Finally Padme stepped through the door enough that it closed behind her. Naes went down the hall to his quarters and called the bridge letting them know that he was in his quarters should he be needed. Then he went over to the mat on the floor and sat down on it and began to meditate. There was just something about Padme that could be soothing and intoxicating. Thankfully he would see Astra and his son tomorrow, if he was fortunate he would not see Padme anymore during this visit.

The week Naes spent with Astra and their son was exactly what he needed; the time also provided the crew with a chance at some much deserved R&R. He then spent the final week overseeing the last of the repairs from the little dust up on the outskirts of the system. Needless to say the Queen and her Councilors were all very thankful to Naes for saving Senator Amidala from the clutches of the Trade Federation. As the two weeks were winding down, Naes got a call from the Council, requesting Rhea and Ezriel to join them in a holoconference.

Once Rhea and Ezriel were online, Yoda began "Intelligence indicates that soon Count Dooku will once more be on his home world of Serrano. You three will head there immediately in unmarked transport. Infiltrate his estate and capture him and return him to Coruscant. It is strongly felt that if we can capture Dooku, swiftly can we end this war. That without Dooku the Separatist movement will fall apart."

"Understood Master Yoda, what of the Seventh Fleet? They were scheduled to patrol the Chommel Sector for the next few months."

"Captain Drallic lead the fleet he will in your place. Once return you have, meet you at Coruscant they will."

"We will find an unmarked small transport and head to Serrano immediately."

"Excellent, May the Force be with you."

Naes immediately went to a small starship dealer and procured an unmarked transport that would take his team to Serrano. He then took the ship to the Redoubt where he began working on the ship's transponder unit, altering it so that it would transmit a CIS identi code. While he was doing that, Rhea went to the Theed Market to find suitable civilian clothing to disguise them. He then told Captain Drallic and the Executive Officer of the Resolute what the plans were, for them to keep up the charade that Naes and Rhea were on the ship, but could not be disturbed. He and his team then left and headed for CIS territory and the planet of Serrano in their new transport which Naes had named "Maverick".

A few days later, Naes and his team landed on Serrano without incident; the three of them wearing the civilian clothes that Rhea had picked out for them. "First thing we need to do is reconnoiter the estate, find any potential weak spots or gaps in security. After that, I will slice into the Records Bureau and pull up the latest blueprints so that we can have an idea of the layout. Considering Dooku's high profile, he probably has a private landing pad at his estate; we will need to tap into the traffic control system to automatically alert us whenever a craft lands at his estate. Let's get to work, and remember we want to blend in and keep a low profile."

A couple days later the three of them were lounging in the Maverick when the traffic alert signal interrupted them, a craft was landing at the estate. Naes sliced into the estate's surveillance system and trained a scanner on the landing pad, sure enough there was Count Dooku striding off his starship. "OK, quick rundown on the plan, when it gets dark, Rhea and I will slip onto the estate, locate and incapacitate Dooku, when we will contact you Ezriel, after we contact you, you will take the Maverick to the estate, land on the pad where we will meet you, we will load Dooku onto the ship and make a beeline for Coruscant. Are there any questions or comments?" Rhea and Ezriel both shook their heads no. "OK, may the Force be with us."

As the sun was setting, Naes and Rhea were making their way through the wooded area to one side of Dooku's estate. One of the trees was close enough for a Jedi to use to jump over the wall and to the other side. Up the tree the two of them went, to the branch that was closest to the wall and big enough to support their weight. Naes went first, using the Force to propel him forward and give him extra balance; he ran across the branch and jumped at the last minute. Rhea followed him a few seconds later. They landed side by side on the other side of the wall. Coming up on the side entrance closest to the master bedroom, Rhea spoofed the sensor and Naes sliced the companel to let them in. They had to be careful, if they used the Force this close to Dooku, it would be like a warning siren going off. Thus, they had to use technology to spoof the sensors as they approached Dooku's suite.

They got to the door and it automatically slid aside, revealing Dooku calmly sitting at his desk flanked by two B2 battle droids. "Ahh, two wayward Jedi Knights, to what do I owe this great pleasure? Surely you know that the two of you combined cannot best me and take me in. I am more powerful than any Jedi. Or have you not heard already, I bested Master Kenobi and the supposed Chosen One Anakin Skywalker; plus fighting Master Yoda to a standstill." With that he let loose a blast of Force Lightening.

Naes calmly activated his saber and caught the lightening on his blade, where it dissipated. "You are under arrest Count Dooku for crimes against the galaxy."

Dooku calmly pressed a button on his desk, "In a few moments another ten battle droids will be coming for the two of you."

"Rhea, you deal with the battle droids, I will handle Dooku." Naes advanced toward Dooku, batting aside the blasts from the two droids flanking him, and when he got close enough he sliced them in half. "Now Dooku, surrender and I promise to go easy on you."

"Oh, I think not, and who might you be, so that I can contact the Jedi Temple and let them know not to be expecting you back."

"I am Naes Nemelc; you have killed enough Jedi and caused enough trouble for the galaxy. You will be brought in to face justice."

"Ahh, Naes Nemelc, I have heard of you, your reputation precedes you. It will be a great pleasure to dispose of you. You have set back the plans of my Master a few too many times." Dooku brought out his lightsaber with its rather unusual curved grip and activated it. He and Naes then engaged.

Naes was astounded at the skill and precision that Count Dooku displayed. He truly was a master of the _Makashi_ form, a form devoted almost exclusively to dueling; a very economical form that consisted of intricate balance and footwork and a minimal expenditure of energy. Naes could see why Kenobi and Skywalker had been bested, even if the two had worked together there was no guarantee that they would have succeeded. Dooku was probably the equal of Mace Windu and Master Yoda in lightsaber combat. Naes fell back; he turned to Rhea and said, "We need to fall back. To the hallway, we will find someplace downstairs to take him." They exited the room and in the hallway came the ten battle droids promised by Count Dooku, Naes and Rhea waded into them and cut them down. Dooku followed them into the hallway; Naes continued to keep him busy while backing down the hallway. "We will make our stand in the Grand Room." When they got to the stairwell, Naes and Rhea jumped down to the first landing, turned and jumped to the first floor.

Once they got to the Grand Room, Rhea asked "Why are we falling back to here?"

"We need room to maneuver. _Makashi_ is a form that works best in more enclosed spaces; it consists of precision footwork and blade work. Here in a more open area, I have room to put more power behind my attacks."

Just then Dooku appeared again, "Master Nemelc, you disappoint me, I expected better from someone of your reputation. And if you are Naes Nemelc, then your companion must be Rhea Sirgon quite the pair the two of you make."

Naes submerged himself in the Force and replied, "Don't worry Dooku; I am not going anywhere now." Then he and Rhea both advanced.

Dooku locked blades with Naes, and kicked Rhea, pushed Naes back and then picked Rhea up with the Force and threw her across the room. Now that we have her out of the way, give it your best shot."

Naes let loose with a flurry of rapid strikes from _Vaaped_, then switched to the defensive form of _Soresu._ He could tell that Dooku was surprised by the _Vaaped_ move.

"I thought Master Windu was the only one who had mastered _Vaaped._"

"You will find that I am full of surprises," Naes replied. And then he let loose on Dooku with his trademark _Djem So. _Naes and Dooku went back and forth like that for several minutes. Naes had trained with an eye towards having the stamina for prolonged duels, and with his ability to switch back and forth from _Soresu _and _Djem So, _was throwing Count Dooku off his game. Eventually his advanced age was beginning to tell, he was beginning to slow down. Naes on the other hand was really just beginning to come into his own, plus with his phenomenal midichlorian count, it gave him virtually unheard of Force reserves. Dooku finally found an opening and Force Pushed Naes away.

Naes flew back and dropped his lightsaber, he looked up and saw Dooku raise his hand and fired another shot of Force Lightening. Naes had no time to call his lightsaber to him, rather he raised his arm and absorbed it and directed it in another direction. Dooku saw that and called out, "Impressive, but today is not your day, I must be gone now."

Naes saw him turn to leave and could not quite think of what to do to stop him when suddenly he extended his hand and shot out Force Lightening of his own. Dooku ducked behind a pillar at the last moment, turned and looked at Naes with an astonished look on his face and headed out of the mansion with a parting shot, "How interesting, a Jedi that can fire Force Lightening." Naes went over to check on Rhea, and called Ezriel.

"Be careful, you bumped your head pretty good."

"Where is Dooku? Did you get him?"

"No, we fought to standstill; he found an opening and Force Pushed me away and ran. Ezriel is on his way with the Maverick, it will only be a short period of time and I have a feeling all traffic off the planet will be halted." Naes picked up Rhea and carried her to the landing pad, where he set her down on her feet. A minute later, Ezriel landed the Maverick and lowered the ramp. Naes and Rhea hurried up, he shouting, "Raise the ramp and get us off of the planet." Ezriel was firing thrusters and began to maneuver the ship from the co-pilots seat. Naes slid into the pilot's seat and took over. He turned back to Rhea and told her to strap in, he turned back to facing the front and punched full power. The Maverick took off like a rocket, quickly leaving the planet behind. Right after applying full power, Naes activated the navicomputer and called up the course for Coruscant.

A few days later, they arrived on Coruscant; Naes is in the Council Chamber delivering his report. "Rhea and I snuck onto the estate, using technology we spoofed the sensors and bypassed the locks on the doors not once drawing on the Force so as not to give ourselves away. When we got to his room, he was waiting for us with two B2 battle droids. I disposed of them and advanced towards Dooku, while Rhea stood guard waiting for the other ten battle droids that he summoned. I was forced to fall back, choosing to make a stand in the Grand Room; we disposed of the other battle droids. Dooku disabled Rhea early in the duel, he and I fought to a standstill, he was beginning to show signs of fatigue. He found an opening and Force Pushed me and then used Force Lightening; I absorbed and redirected it away. But Dooku was too far away for me to catch up to and I did not want to lose him, so I used Force Lightening myself. I have examined myself and I had no darkness in me, my only goal was to slow him down long enough for me to catch him. At the last minute, he dodged the Force Lightening and proceeded to escape. I went to Rhea and called Ezriel for pick up. And we proceeded to Coruscant. I apologize for my failure to capture Count Dooku."

"No apology necessary Master Nemelc, a Sith Lord is Count Dooku, powerful in the Dark Side he is; devious he has become. Few Jedi could have fought him to a standstill. As for your use of Force Lightening, meditate upon that you will. Examine yourself further to make sure you harbor no darkness within yourself. Rejoin your fleet in a few days you will and continue your patrol."

"Thank you Master Yoda, I will meditate upon my actions and make a conscious effort to avoid repeating my mistakes." With that, Naes bowed his head and left the Council Chambers. He had a few days on Coruscant and intended to make the most of them; and headed for his and Astra's apartment.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Fourteen**

The past few months passed in a blur, after his failed mission to capture Count Dooku, Naes and the Raiders were deployed several times, sometimes on their original mission of raiding CIS forces and commerce behind enemy lines; other times, to provide support for the retaking of planets. Even in the arena of battling above a planet, Naes distinguished himself for his superior battle tactics. He became known for attacking his enemies in unexpected ways, as well as for pushing a battle; where a lesser tactician may have retired from the field of battle, Naes would snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Naes was thankful for the protocols he had set up to allow him to communicate with Astra while he was on deployment; it helped alleviate the sense of being parted from her. Now it was time to return to Coruscant once more, plus if Astra's healers were correct she would deliver in about a week.

When the time came, he was with Astra at the hospital. They named the new addition to their family Amalie. And with Amalie as it was with Naes Jr, she too was strong in the Force. So Naes did the same basic thing, he mind tricked the nurse, subbed in records from another child born several months before and put the same type of inhibition on Amalie in regards to her being able to use the Force. He also used the time at home to train Naes Jr in some rudimentary Force practices. At two years of age, he was beginning to be able to use Force Push and basic levitation of his toys; as well as showing signs of trying to draw objects to him. In another year, Naes hoped to begin training him in the early stages of precognition. For that, he would need to "borrow" a training sphere from the crèche. During this layover at Coruscant, Naes fleet was given the new Venator class Star Destroyers. The name of his was the Vindicator and Rhea had the Vesta and the third ship of their fleet was named the Republic. These new ships packed more firepower on a more maneuverable and faster platform. Not just faster in terms of hyperspace transit but faster for in system transit as well.

Naes had already begun to think of ways that he could put those qualities to very good use against the Separatist. One other change that Naes did make was to give Ezriel command of a squad of fighters. He could hold his own in a cockpit against just about any pilot; the two biggest exceptions were Naes and Anakin. Of course, no pilot could compare to Anakin and Naes. Though he was only seventeen years old, as a Jedi more was expected of Ezriel. This would be good experience for Ezriel, leading men into battle, being responsible for their lives, and earning their trust. In a way Naes almost envied him, from the cockpit things were a lot simpler and easier. But Naes did not have the luxury of being able to jump into a fighter whenever he wanted, he had a duty and obligation to lead the fleet and direct the battle and one simply could not do that from the cockpit of a fighter.

Just then Master Yoda appeared on the holochannel, "Master Nemelc directed you are to assist the Bothans with their defense. Reports we have received of the Separatists massing for an invasion. Reports suggest General Grievous will lead the assault himself. Careful you should be, mindful of the type of opponent is Grievous. Assisted you will be by the Bothan Defense Fleet; sending you all the information that you will need. May the Force be with you."

"Understood Master Yoda, I have received the data and we will head for Bothawui immediately." With that Naes closed that comm channel and opened one up to the Command Bridge, Captain Drallic please set a course for Bothawui and inform the rest of the fleet to follow. Also, request that they begin sending scouts out to locate the Separatist fleet massing in their vicinity. And finally please meet me in the briefing room in thirty minutes, and have the other ship commanders patched in as well. Thanks."

"We have been assigned to assist the Bothans with their defense against a Separatist invasion. The reports that I have received indicate a strong possibility that General Grievous will be leading this attack. When we arrive at Bothawui, I am hoping that we will have some hard information on the location of the fleet and its composition. This is going to be our first engagement using our new ships, I request all command staff to review the capabilities of their ship. They pack more firepower and carry more fighters than the Acclamator's did; they are faster and more maneuverable also. Used properly these things can work to our advantage. May the Force be with us."

When the fleet dropped out of hyperspace Naes contacted the commander of the Bothan Defense Fleet. "This is Naes Nemelc, commander of the Republic Seventh Fleet, to whom am I speaking?"

"I am Thosk Fel'ya. It is agreeable to see you General Nemelc. The Republic does us honor by sending such a distinguished leader as yourself. I have dispatched our scout craft as you have requested. They were told to use maximum caution and to enter and leave systems in such a way so as not to be noticed. They are expected back soon."

"Thosk Fel'ya, thank you for doing this. I ask that you have your ships ready to make a hyperspace jump as soon as your scouts return. I have a plan that I will discuss with you in private. As such, I invite you and your planning staff to come aboard and visit the Vindicator."

An hour later, "General Nemelc, our scout craft have come back. Reports indicate that the Separatist are gathering at Rodia."

"Thank you, Rodia is further than I expected, but it is still doable." Naes called up a holodisplay of the Rodian system, "Please indicate where in the system the fleet is gathering."

"Our scouts indicate that the fleet is gathering here, in the vicinity of the fifth planet, it is a gas giant with approximately thirty satellites."

"Hmm, it appears to be an average gas giant, slightly above average number of satellites. My plan should work fine, here is what I want you to do," Naes pulled the display out a ways, to show the intervening space around the Rodian system. "I want half your fleet to jump to this point here," Naes pointed to the right of the system. "Once you jump there, then you make the jump to just outside the orbital plane of the furthest satellite. I want the other half of your fleet to jump on the other side of the system and come in from the other direction. That way you catch the Separatist between your fleets."

There was a rumbling sound from deep within Thosk Fel'ya, from Naes previous experience with Bothans; he knew that this was a rumble of satisfaction. "You know us well General Nemelc; it is a hard thing for a Bothan to fight defensively and we also desire to be the first in the fight. We are an aggressive species at times. We are hunters by nature. Where will your fleet be, if I may ask? I have one other concern, it will be difficult to make the kind of pinpoint jump that you are asking."

"After your fleets jump in and pin the enemy from the sides, my fleet will jump in from the front and pin them against the gravity well of the gas giant. They will be squeezed from all directions, your fleet from the sides, and my fleet from the front and the gas giant from the back. As for the pinpoint jump, if you reset your gravity detectors sensitivity about 20% higher; that should automatically pull your fleet back into real space just about on target. Also, when you drop out of hyperspace, I want you ready to engage immediately, that way the Separatist won't have as much time to prepare. I want them surprised completely. If your fleet can leave in about thirty minutes, that would be appreciated. Thanks."

"It will be done. See you at Rodia." Thosk left with a smile and a pleased expression.

After he left Naes said to no one in particular, "I just hope that this will be enough to defeat Grievous." He then opened a comm channel to the entire ship, "All hands prepare to depart for the Rodia system in thirty five minutes. When we drop out of hyperspace, I want the ship prepared for action. For this I also want all non essential personnel in their quarters and all troopers at their staging areas and prepared for instant deployment. All fighters and gunships be ready for deployment, I want pilots in their cockpits."

When Naes dropped out of hyperspace, the scene was just as he expected. The Separatist fleet was pinned on both sides, and it was beginning to take damage. "All fighters launch, weapons target the nearest ship and engage." Whoever the commander of this fleet was, he was good. Despite being taken by surprise and pinned from every direction, he was not going down without a fight. Just then a ship broke away from the enemy fleet and began approaching the Vindicator. "What ship is that?"

"Sensors indicate that it is the Invisible Hand; latest intel says it is Grievous ship."

"What is he doing? What is his plan? Is he going to attempt a broadside?" Naes was racking his brain, trying to figure out what Grievous was up to. He took a few calming breaths and cleared his mind to let the Force speak to him. That is when the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. "Contact the Vesta; tell them to come on the other side of Grievous ship and to prepare to board his ship. Seal the Vindicator, I want all blast doors closed and sealed. They are only to be opened to allow movement of troopers, and just long enough for the troops to pass. Delta and Gamma groups, prepare to defend the ship from boarding. Alpha and Beta groups prepare to board Grievous ship. Beta group deploy in the walkers, Epsilon group suit up for vacuum assault. Captain Drallic, you have the bridge, I will lead Delta and Gamma groups, I have a feeling that Grievous will lead the assault personally. If that is the case, it will take a fully trained Jedi to handle him."

Sure enough, the Invisible Hand came alongside the Vindicator and extended a docking tube. Naes looked the display and knew where Grievous would board the ship. "Delta and Gamma, deploy to starboard side, section Lima, deck 115." Naes turned his attention to the battle display, he could see the Vesta maneuvering to the other side of the Invisible Hand. "He looked up at Captain Drallic, "Captain tell the Republic to continue pressing the attack, fire on the Invisible Hand wherever you can, being careful to not hit any of our men or the Vesta. My intention is not to take the ship, but to get Grievous to back off. The rest of the batteries direct against the enemy fleet. They will be hesitant to fire on us just in case they accidentally the Invisible Hand."

Naes left to lead the ships defenders against Grievous, sure enough when he got to the section in question, he could hear the docking tube latching onto the ship. A few minutes later; that section of the hull blew out, "Seal the ship, I repeat seal the ship. Close all bulkheads." Through the smoke and haze, trooped battle droids, "Alpha, Beta and Epsilon groups commence your attack. Delta and Gamma open fire." Naes stood up and began batting laser bolts back at the droids with his lightsaber. Just then he heard a gasping sound, as if the individual was constantly out of breath. Naes knew with a certainty that it was Grievous. He began advancing towards the droids and the docking tube, planning on meeting Grievous as close to the tube as possible.

"And who are you Jedi scum?"

"General Grievous, you are under arrest for crimes against the Republic. Please stand down and turn yourself in. I am Naes Nemelc."

"I don't think so Jedi, soon I will add your lightsaber to my trophy collection." With that, Grievous reached into his cloak and withdrew two lightsabers and activated them. "I shall enjoy putting you out of my misery and out of the Separatist misery as well. You know that they have a price on your head? Today you will fall and soon the Republic will fall as well, my master has foretold it." Grievous advanced on Naes, his arms spinning and twisting inhumanly fast.

Naes took a moment to set himself and then he took a deep breath and submerged himself in the Force, letting it guide his actions. With that, the duel was on. Naes could see the imprints of Dooku's training on Grievous; he could make out the traces of _Makashi_ as well as _Djem So _both hybridized for Grievous _Jar Kai_ style. Naes immediately dropped into the tried and true defense of _Soresu_, against Grievous that was going to be his best bet. The two went back and forth around the closed off chamber, Naes then saw his opening to move the duel to a different locale, he Force Pushed Grievous back, ran at him and leaped over him an made his way for the docking tunnel. He knew full well that Grievous would have no choice but to follow him, by now Grievous had to be receiving reports about various boarding actions being taken against the Invisible Hand. Grievous could not allow a Jedi free access to his flagship, not with boarding attempts being made at multiple locations. Sure enough, Grievous followed.

On the other side of the docking tube, Naes again set himself making note to himself that this room appeared to be a cargo hold of some sort, waiting for Grievous to come. Sure enough, here he came. He came at Naes full bore, and once again Naes fell into _Soresu_, keeping note in his mind where the pitfalls were in the room. Naes jumped back to give himself some space and with a flick of his wrist sent a large container flying at Grievous. When it hit, he stumbled a bit. Naes then sent a flurry of containers at Grievous. One he dodged, a couple he was able to slice in half with his lightsabers. Several more found their mark, and just as the last of them landed, Naes jumped in and chopped off Grievous left arm.

"Now Grievous, surrender."

"Never Jedi scum, I have only just started

Just then Naes heard Grievous comm chirp, a robotic voice that Naes could tell belonged to a B1 battle droid came over the circuit, "Sir the Vesta has extended a docking port and clones are boarding on our starboard side. Plus clones from the Vindicator are boarding with vacuum assault and walkers. We are beginning to take serious damage."

Grievous looked at Naes, "What have you done you Jedi?"

Naes held his arms out at his side with a large grin on his face, "Oh did I forget to mention my surprises for you? You see when I figured out that you were going to attempt a boarding action; I decided to turn it about on you. And while your flagship is being hit from both sides, your fleet cannot do a thing to help for fear of hitting your ship."

With that Grievous let out an enraged howl, "You shall pay for this Jedi." And he rushed at Naes.

Naes went on the offensive with _Djem So_, "Not today Grievous," they continued around the room, rather quickly Naes saw an opening due to Grievous blind rage. He flicked his wrist and the tip of his blade skittered across Grievous chest plate. Naes flipped over him and extended his blade and slid it across Grievous back. Grievous turned and the two locked sabers. Naes pushed back against him, ducked and took off the fore part of Grievous right foot; his saber coming back up and clipped Grievous left knee. He continued to bring his saber up and adjusted the angle of his wrist and sliced Grievous remaining lightsaber in half. Just then a hatchway opened up and several B2 battle droids stepped out followed by two rolling droideka's.

"I will take that as my cue to leave General, I look forward to finishing our conversation soon." With that, Naes sprinted down the docking tube, jamming the exterior door on the Invisible Hand shut. "All units pull back, Rhea pull back" Naes got back to the Vindicator, where his troops were finishing up with the droids there. "Commander, evacuate the room and toss me three thermal detonators."

"Yes sir General."

Naes stood at the open hatch, waiting as the last of the troops filed past him. He set the detonators for a two minute delay, threw them towards the empty docking tube and directed them into the tube using the Force. Naes then sealed the hatch and headed back to the bridge. "Captain Drallic, as soon as the docking tube explodes. Pull the Vindicator away." Naes strode onto the bridge a short time later, "What is the latest on the battle Captain Drallic?"

"The Separatist Fleet is just about completely wiped out, a few ships are beginning to maneuver themselves out of the gravity well and attempt to make an attempt at a hyperspace jump. They are suffering from severe damage, the Bothans are pursuing."

"And what of the Invisible Hand, and our boarding teams we sent out?"

"She has suffered severe damage and is making her way out of the system. All boarding groups have reported in and have just finished returning to the Vindicator."

"Excellent, tell the Republic and our fighters to continue to press against the Separatist and for the Vesta and her fighters to harass and give chase to the Invisible Hand. Plot a course to intercept the Separatist fleet."

A few minutes later, "Sir, the Vesta reports that the Invisible Hand escaped into hyperspace, though she is badly damaged. The remains of the Separatist fleet are standing down and they are signaling their surrender."

"Acknowledge the surrender; send the Bothan fleet alongside the remaining ships. Tell the Separatist to leave their ships via escape pods; organics only. Leave all droids on the ships. After the escape pods are clear, destroy the ships. And then set course for Bothawui, we have some damage to repair and we will take advantage of their shipyards to repair that damage. Send a message to Coruscant with a report of the battle." With that, the Battle of Rodia and the attempted Separatist invasion of Bothawui was over.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Love of a Jedi**

**Chapter Fifteen**

It has been two years since Naes took on Grievous at the Battle of Rodia. A year since he was sent to retake Ossus from the Separatist. If the Jedi could ever be said to have a homeworld, it was Ossus. Of course, the planet was badly scarred from the Sith Wars of a thousand years ago and the Jedi did not have much of a presence on the planet. Ever since before the Ruusan Reformation, the Jedi's seat of power had been on Coruscant. Naes personally could not see the sense of fighting a prolonged battle over a planet of little strategic value. Jedi claimed to not be that sentimental, but they kept fighting the battle to retake the planet. Six months ago, when he had been recalled to Coruscant for rotation and rest and relaxation Naes had brought up to the Council the prospect of leaving the planet to the Separatist for now, and concentrating on more strategic targets. He remembered that conversation rather well, even six months after the fact.

"Masters, I need to make a suggestion. We need to abandon the effort to retake Ossus. From a strategic standpoint the world is worthless; it will not contribute or detract from the Separatist cause. It will not contribute anything to the Republic either, the planet is relatively deserted. The only thing of value is that at one point in the long history of the Republic, Ossus was the seat of the Jedi Council and location of the Jedi Temple. We have since made Coruscant our primary seat, here close to the center of power of the galaxy. Leave Ossus for now, we can reclaim the planet after the Separatist are defeated. Six months ago we drove the Separatist away from the core and towards the Outer Rim. The Outer Rim Sieges are for the most part going well. We are in the process of taking Cato Neimodia."

Mace looked at Naes, "The Council's decision is final on this matter Master Nemelc. There will be no further discussion of this. You will proceed with your current orders."

"No disrespect is meant for the Council, but I fear that we are going to turn this into another Battle of Ruusan. Master Hoth and the Army of Light and the Brotherhood of Darkness both poured everything they had into that one planet and battle. Virtually destroying the world; even now a thousand years later the world is barren and a waste. I do not wish for any further damage to be done to Ossus."

"Your analogy is incorrect; Ossus is not the only world we are trying to retake. It will not be destroyed. A major reason for the desolation of Ruusan is that the Sith set off a Thought Bomb, wiping out themselves and most of the Jedi on the planet. We will continue the battle."

"Yes sir, I will continue with the battle."

To a degree the Council was correct, yes Ossus received more scars but it was not desolated the way that Naes had feared. The planet still bore no strategic value. The task force was just wrapping things up with retaking the planet a Republic victory once more; his fleet was scheduled to depart for Coruscant in a few days as it was. Just then Naes got an emergency communiqué. He immediately took it in his ready room. When he decoded the message his heart stopped, a large Separatist Fleet had snuck past Republic lines and was over Coruscant, all available ships were to return at once. Immediately he opened a comm to Captain Drallic, "Captain, contact the Vesta and Republic they are to break off immediately and make ready for best speed to Coruscant; the same for the Vindicator. A large Separatist Fleet is attacking the Capital. As soon as we drop out of hyperspace, I want us to be ready to engage the enemy fleet."

Naes and his fleet dropped out of hyperspace, the comm officer shouted "We are getting a report; the Chancellor has been kidnapped by General Grievous. Two Jedi are supposed to be mounting a rescue mission."

Captain Drallic's face turned ashen, "That's it, we have lost the war. Without Palpatine's leadership we have no hope of winning."

Naes looked sharply at Drallic and said, "Belay that defeatist talk mister. We have not lost yet. Even if we lose Palpatine, we still have the Senate and the Jedi Council. Position the fleet so that no Separatist ships can escape and launch all fighters. Open a channel to the Jedi Council."

"Channel open sir," with that Master Yoda appeared in the holoprojector.

"What is the situation Master?"

"Kidnapped the Chancellor has been; several Jedi Grievous killed to capture him. Kenobi and Skywalker arrive shortly they should to attempt a rescue."

"I have positioned my fleet to prevent any Separatist from escaping. I will order my fighters to provide any and all assistance to Jedi units." Naes glanced to the comm officer and he shook his head in understanding, to begin passing on the revised orders to the fighters.

"Nothing else can you do Master Nemelc. May the Force be with us." With that, the projector went dark.

Naes looked around at his bridge officers, "You heard Master Yoda, we stop all Separatist ships and Kenobi and Skywalker are on the job to rescue the Chancellor. If anyone can pull off the rescue it will be the two of them." Naes knew such a statement was not sheer bravado; Kenobi and Skywalker were the best team the Jedi had; though he and Rhea did make a close second. And the team of Nemelc and Jobal was as good as if not better than Skywalker and Tano. In fact, Ezriel should be ready for the trials in another couple of years; at nineteen he just needed a little bit more seasoning. He had really shown great skill in a fighter and had become an effective flight leader. He was out there right now in his fighter leading the fighter compliment of the Vindicator.

Just then the Open Circle Fleet dropped out of hyperspace, Kenobi and Skywalker had arrived. The new arrivals began taking up position to stop any Separatist's as well, and Naes saw two Jedi Starfighters leave one of the ships and head for the heart of the battle. The rescue mission was underway.

An hour later suddenly all the escape pods on the Invisible Hand ejected and a message came through that the Chancellor had been rescued and Skywalker was attempting to pilot the ship down to the planet. That is when things really got interesting, as the Invisible Hand began to plummet through the atmosphere, the rear half of the ship fell away. Skywalker was going to have to pilot half a ship with no engines through the atmosphere and land safely; hopefully doing as little damage as possible to the city-planet. The ship was spouting gouts of fire, plummeting through the atmosphere red hot. Amazingly the half ship landed at a landing field with all occupants safe though breathless and with only the loss of a tower in terms of damage; overall and amazing feat. Naes watched it all unfold, knowing that even he would have had a hard time duplicating the feat. Skywalker's skills in piloting were unparalled, he was probably the greatest star pilot there ever was.

Once Naes verified that the ship had landed, he turned to Captain Drallic and said, "I am taking the Maverick down to Coruscant. Check with Fleet HQ for where to dock."

"Yes sir."

As soon as Naes landed the Maverick at a commercial field close to the Jedi Temple, he immediately headed to the Temple to report on the Battle of Ossus and his role in the recent battle over Coruscant. Rumors were already circulating that Anakin had bested Count Dooku and that General Grievous had escaped once more. And know there was talk that the Senate was going to vote more emergency powers to the Chancellor, over the years Palpatine had taken on more and more trappings of a tyrant, the Senate had largely sidelined itself and gave the majority of its powers to the Chancellor, who pretty much ruled by decree. Naes knew from his duel against Dooku two years ago that he could be a tough opponent. Obviously Anakin had greatly improved in his saber skills. The war finally appeared to be wrapping up, a few more months and the Separatist would be defeated.

After making his report to the Council, Naes went to his home with Astra; he had not seen his family in six months. When he came through the door, Astra rushed at him and very nearly tackled him to the ground; she was so glad to see him. Naes picked her up and kissed her. After setting her down, he reached down and picked up little Naes held him and then picked up Amalie in his other arm. Naes could not imagine life without his family. They gave him such strength and a reason to come home. Both of his kids were getting so big, Naes Jr was four years old and Amalie was two years old. Naes sat down to enjoy himself for a few hours.

A couple days later, he was surprised to hear that the Chancellor had requested Anakin Skywalker be put on the Jedi Council as his personal representative. Naes was surprised and convinced more than ever that Palpatine was under the control of a Sith Lord. That could only be the only explanation that he could think of to explain this sudden power grab. Later Master Yoda came to Naes to tell him in private that the Council believed the same thing.

"Master Nemelc; heard you have that the Council has acquiesced to the Chancellor's request that Anakin Skywalker be appointed to the Council as his personal representative. But Skywalker has not been granted the title of Master."

"I have heard he was appointed to the Council Master Yoda, I was surprised that the Council acceded to the request. No Council has ever taken kindly to a Chancellor interfering in Jedi business; especially one like Palpatine that the Council does not trust. But not granting him the rank of Master even though he is on the Council is unheard of."

"Off the record Skywalker has been assigned to spy on the Chancellor."

"Master, that is not a good idea, I am not sure Skywalker can be objective when it comes to the Chancellor, he considers him to be a friend and mentor. He has a problem with loyalty to such nebulous things as the greater good. His loyalties are to people not concepts."

"Your concerns are noted and others have raised them as well. The Council must find the Sith Lord."

"As always Master, I serve the Council."

"Go, continue with your business, be mindful and watchful you should be, soon go I will to Kashyyyk to help the Wookiees."

That night Naes sleep was disturbed. He did not remember any of his dreams, but he awakened with a general feeling of foreboding. After a brief training session with Ezriel, he commed Dex.

"Dex, this is Naes, remember that project that you and I have been working on for a few years?"

"Yes I do, it is going along very well."

"I am glad to hear that, we need to close it down. Contact the others and tell them the time is getting close, they need to be prepared to move."

He then called Astra, "Astra, dear remember what I told you a few years ago about leaving Coruscant?"

"Yes, of course."

"That time is getting close. Tell your patients that you will be taking an extended leave of absence. Have bags packed for you and the kids. I have a feeling that sometime in the next week, we will be making a clandestine escape."

"Have you had a vision?"

"No, just a premonition, the Force is trying to warn me of something."

After that, he hunted down Rhea. "Rhea, sometime in the next week I am going to comm you. When I do, take your bags and meet me at the Midtown Landing Field, docking bay 229, there you will find the Maverick. As soon as you get there, begin prepping for take-off, supplies for five people for two weeks and the fuel tanks are topped off. I have a feeling in the Force that things are going down very soon."

"What will you be doing while I am prepping the ship?"

"I will be getting Ezriel and my family."

"Ahh, I understand."

Later that afternoon, it was announced that Obi Wan Kenobi would be traveling to Utapau that Clone Intelligence indicated that General Grievous was there. When Naes heard that, he had a bad feeling about it. He found Ezriel and told him, "I want you to stay in the Temple until further notice unless either I or Rhea is with you. If either of us tells you to pack and go with us, do so immediately. We will explain our reasons on the way."

"Yes Master Nemelc, I don't understand but I will do as you ask. You and Knight Sirgon have always been honest with me."

"Thanks Ezriel. You will make a fine Jedi one day." Thinking to himself, "Provided there is a Jedi Order in a few days."

The next afternoon, Naes was in the hanger almost done working on an airspeeder that was kept at the Jedi Temple. He noticed Mace Windu along with Master's Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar headed for a gunship, Anakin then ran up to Mace. Naes could tell that something important was up, so he stepped closer and listened in unobtrusively. The ensuing conversation surprised and shocked him. Mace and the other Masters were on their way to arrest the Chancellor; Obi Wan had reported in through Commander Cody, he had engaged General Grievous. Naes knew that meant that Grievous by that time was probably spare parts. Then Anakin said the Chancellor was the Sith Lord and knew the ways of the Force. And that Mace and the Masters would need his help to defeat him. Mace was his usual self, curt and talking down just a touch to Anakin. He told Anakin he sensed the conflict in him and to stay in the Council Chambers until he returned. With that Mace and the other Masters left. Anakin turned around and left, looking dejected and worried. There appeared to be something else troubling him. Anakin was not himself, and thus was projecting his thoughts without even thinking about it and a name and image popped into Naes head, Padme. He knew then that Anakin was in love with her and for some reason was concerned about her safety. For him to be that worried about her, he must have had a vision of her dying, or something along those lines.

Once Anakin was out of earshot, Naes reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator and called Mace Windu. "Master, I do not wish to disturb you or second guess your decisions, but I strongly feel that you are going to need Anakin and I to confront the Chancellor with you. Let me go get him and we can meet you at the Chancellor's office."

"That is not necessary Master Nemelc; I have more than enough Jedi with me as is. We can handle this Sith Lord. I won't need yours or Anakin's help on this."

Naes sighed, and said "Master Windu, I had a vision a few years ago of this Sith Lord, in the vision it took everything I had to defeat him. He is an accomplished swordsman, easily the match for you or Master Yoda and he is uncommonly powerful, possibly stronger in the Force than Master Yoda is."

"I don't care what kind of vision you had, we will handle this."

"Yes Master." Naes then understood Palpatine's plan, the majority of the Jedi were scattered throughout the galaxy fighting the Separatist with the clones. If he survived the arrest attempt he could doctor it to make it appear that the Jedi had attempted a revolt against him, thus he would be free to use the Clones against all of the Jedi across the galaxy. He then commed Dex, "It is starting tonight; do not trust any Clone Troopers." He then commed Rhea and Astra and told them the same thing that he told Dex. He then commed Ezriel, "Pack your bag and meet me in the hanger." With that, he finished his work on the airspeeder and started prepping it. Just as he finished, Ezriel came in.

"Hurry get in, very soon things are going to get really bad."

"Why, what has happened?"

"Anakin just told Master Windu that the Chancellor is a Sith Lord. And Mace is going to his office with too few Jedi to confront a Sith Lord of his strength." Just then Naes felt the doors to the speeder garage above activate and Anakin leaving the Temple, Naes knew then that things were lost. "Come on, get in. We have a stop to make."

"Where are we going?"

"Ezriel, you may find this hard to believe or understand, but a few years ago I married, I have a wife and two kids."

"But Master, the code specifically forbids attachment of any sort."

"Yes I know, but I feel the love and attachment I have for my wife and kids have made me stronger."

When Naes arrived at his and Astra's apartment, he ran to the door and opened it, followed closely by Ezriel. "Astra, this is my Padawan Ezriel Jobal; Ezriel this is my wife Astra. The boy is my son Naes Jr and the girl is my daughter Amalie. Ezriel, please grab their restraint seats. I will grab the bags, Astra if you can grab our kids." Just then Naes staggered, he felt a shift in the Force and knew then that Anakin had just chosen the Chancellor over the Jedi Order.

Ezriel ran to his side, "What is wrong Master?" the concern in his voice evident.

"The Force has shifted in drastic favor of the Dark Side. Anakin has chosen the Sith over the Jedi. Come on, we need to get to the Midtown Landing Field, pad 229. Ezriel, I am going to need you to drive." About midway to the field, Naes began to feel the light of the Jedi go out. He knew then that the clones had turned on the Jedi. In the distance he could see the Temple begin to burn. They landed at the field and ran up the ramp. Rhea was sitting in the copilot's seat prepping the ship for take-off. "Have you felt the Force shift?" Naes asked Rhea.

She looked over at him, the hint of tears in her eyes "Just enough to know what is happening."

"Launch the Maverick under one of the forged commercial ID's that we have used in the past. I can pilot us, people strap in we are going to Naboo." Naes knew that orbital control would be looking for any Jedi codes. Then he saw on the scope the transponder code for the Tantive IV, Naes reached out in the Force and felt Bail Organa, he felt determination and concern, Naes could infer that Bail was heading out to find some of the Jedi that were scattered throughout the galaxy. He opened up a secure channel to the ship, "Senator Organa this is Naes Nemelc, an old assistant of yours. I think you should look at Kashyyyk and Utapau for what you are looking for."

Bail came on, "I appreciate the pointer Mr. Nemelc. Safe journey to you, you are always welcome on Alderaan; Bail Organa out."

With that, Naes pulled up the coordinates from the navicomputer for Naboo, and engaged the hyperdrive. A couple days later they arrived. In that time, Naes had forged some fake ID's for the entire group, Rhea and Ezriel were going to play the part of his twin sister and their younger brother. Astra and the kids would play their natural part of his wife and children.

A couple days after landing on Naboo, Naes felt a tremor in the Force. No more Jedi had perished that he could tell, but something momentous had occurred. A couple days later Bail Organa's ship the Tantive IV arrived on planet. It was carrying Padme's body. Naes also felt the presence of Masters Yoda and Kenobi on board the Tantive. He snuck on board and found Master Yoda in one of the conference rooms. "Master Yoda, it is good to see that you are still alive. I feared the worst."

"Master Nemelc, good it is to see you as well, how many Jedi were you able to save?"

"I was able to save myself, Rhea Sirgon, and Ezriel Jobal. Seeing as there is not much left of the Order now, I will tell you Master that I married a few years ago, I have two children, a boy and a girl; both are very strong in the Force."

"Unexpected this is, normally expelled from the Order you would, but need all the Jedi we do. Stay on Naboo long you cannot. Eventually the Jedi will rise again, save what you have learned Careful you must be, pass on your knowledge you must. Pregnant was Padme, twins she had by young Skywalker, a boy and a girl. Separated they shall be. Trained eventually the boy will be to face the Emperor and Vader. Five Force users a beacon will create. See it the Emperor and Vader will. Eventually you must scatter; constantly on the move you must be."

"I should also tell you Master Yoda that a few years ago I consulted with Dex, we have created a group that will form the core of any future rebellion against the new Emperor, they are scattered throughout the galaxy with several staying on Coruscant."

Just then Bail Organa walked into the room, "Master Nemelc! What are you doing here? I must again thank you for pointing me toward Master's Yoda and Kenobi."

"Senator, I and my family came to Naboo after we left Coruscant, I was just telling Master Yoda that I and a colleague from the CoCo district of Coruscant named Dex have created a group that can form the core of a rebellion. I will give you my contact information and the contact list for the group, if you ever need anything please let me know. When the time is right, I will be there to lend whatever assistance I can." With that, Naes left the ship.

Later that evening, there was a grand funeral procession for Padme. Rhea and Ezriel stayed home to watch Naes Jr. and Amalie, while Naes and Astra observed from a respectful distance. A single tear fell down his face, fortunately Astra was on the other side of him, and thus she could not see it in the poor lighting. Naes could not help but for a moment reflect on the death of someone that was beloved to him. And he wondered briefly what might have been if he had chosen Padme the first time all those years ago when they first met here on Naboo or even when she came to Coruscant as a Senator. The odds were that she would have survived and maybe hopefully Anakin would not have fallen. Naes did not know what Palpatine promised Anakin in order to get him to betray the Order, Naes could guess from Anakin's concern about her, that it was about the untimely death of Padme, just from the way he was projecting a few days ago at the Temple.

That night, Naes had another Force Dream, in the dream he was in the Chancellor's Office with Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, Mace Windu, and Anakin. Master Fisto and the other two Masters were dispatched fairly quickly by Palpatine. And as before, this duel was a grueling one. Palpatine was a master swordsman, easily the match for Master Yoda or Master Windu. Fortunately, by this time Anakin was an accomplished swordsman in his own right and Naes was the match for Mace Windu. The three Jedi engaged him in a united front, Anakin seeing the way in which he cold bloodedly killed the three Jedi Masters, the animalistic roar that came out of his mouth, the way he started the duel when he attacked them, refusing to be placed under arrest to face a trial; the sneer that was on his lips as he fought them. There could be no doubt about it, this man was evil.

After several minutes of dueling, Palpatine delivered a kick to Mace knocking him back. Then Palpatine spoke to Anakin, "Anakin my boy, only through me can you save your wife. Without my help she will die."

Naes began using Inverse Dun Moch and began pouring love and compassion into the Force and spoke, "Anakin do not listen to him he is trying to trick you. He is a Sith Lord; he is a master of trickery and deceit. Think of how many years he has lied to everyone about his true nature; including you. I will be honest with you, I am married. In fact my wife is Padme's healer. If there was anything wrong with Padme, my wife would know about it. I give you my word, I will help you any way possible to save Padme's life, and my wife will help us. You do not have to face this alone; you have friends here in the Order. You know why I have never said anything about being married. He is Sith, how can he save your wife if he is using the Dark Side, Sith have a problem using a simple healing trance. The Dark Side only leads to death and destruction." All this while he and Anakin was dueling Palpatine. Naes kicked Palpatine back to give him and Anakin some breathing room, Anakin stepped back a moment to think on what Naes and Palpatine had said.

Mace Windu took that chance to step back into the fray. "Naes is right; I will help you save Padme's life. First though we cannot allow the darkness of the Sith to ever return and gain sway over the galaxy. Help us now Anakin, fulfill your destiny and bring balance to the Force. Return peace to the galaxy." Mace and Naes neither one was limiting himself, as the Jedi usually did, they were channeling all of their power and rage into the duel; Mace with his Vaapad combat style, a form of lightsaber combat requiring the user to relish the fight and use their will to win, in order to enhance their abilities and Naes with his hybrid of Soresu, Djem So, and Vaapad. Palpatine was beginning to tire, he shot Force Lightening at both Naes and Mace, Mace held up his lightsaber to block it, Naes raised his hand and absorbed the full strength of the blast.

Anakin saw all of that; he heard Naes and Mace ask for his help. With that a roar erupted from him, he took his saber and somersaulted over Naes and Mace. He engaged Palpatine with a ferocity rarely seen. "You have lied to me for the last time; they have offered me help freely with no conditions. You have always done your best to separate me from the Jedi and my master. You have never cared for me; all this time you have been using me to further your own agenda. That stops here and now." Naes and Mace stepped forward to assist, Palpatine knocked Mace to the side with a Force Push, and he landed in a heap somewhat dazed. Immediately after that, Naes saw his opening and disarmed Palpatine at the elbow. He stepped back, howling in pain and fury, "You shall pay for that. If you had not been so staunch for the light I could have used you as my apprentice." Anakin hearing that saw and understood that Palpatine was truly using him this entire time, that if Palpatine could have found someone stronger or more pliant he would have used them. "You shall meet the same fate as you had me give Count Dooku," he yelled out. With that Anakin finished the duel.

With that, Naes woke up and understood that Anakin had choices the entire time, he also saw Mace Windu's mistake of arrogance. Anakin and Naes were meant to be in that office to assist Mace; and Anakin fulfill his destiny of defeating the final Sith Lord and bringing balance to the Force.

The next morning, Naes had a meeting with Rhea, Ezriel and Astra. Passing along Yoda's admonition to remain concealed until such time as the Emperor was overthrown and balance restored to the Force. They would stay on Naboo for a few months, but for the next few years they would have to move and at some point they would have to split up, together they would be like a beacon to the Emperor and Vader. Naes did know one thing for sure, for the foreseeable future he was going to constantly be on the move. He could live with that; so long as he had his family with him he could face anything. He also knew that his adventures were not over; in fact they had probably just begun.

**The End**


End file.
